Tottenham came crashing back down to earth as Burnley boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over the Lilywhites at a windy Turf Moor on Wednesday.
Days after a famous victory over Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur were dealt a reality check in the rearranged clash at Turf Moor as a 71st-minute header from Ben Mee handed relegation-threatened Burnley precious three points in the Premier League on Wednesday.
The game got off to a fast start, with both teams pressing hard and going at each other in the early stages of the encounter. Burnley perhaps had the better half of the chances as they comfortably won the midfield battle but could not create any clear cut opportunities.
The visitors made the stronger start after the break, with Harry Kane flashing a header against the bar from a free-kick. But Burnley soon fashioned their own chances, with Hugo Lloris stretched to make a decent save to deny a Jay Rodriguez header after a fine cross from Dwight McNeil, who exploited space down the left flank all evening.
As the game entered the last quarter, Dejan Kulusevski curled an effort wide before Mee rose above Cristian Romero at the back post to head home from a Josh Brownhill free-kick in the 71st minute. Following that, Burnley withstood the Spurs rally to register back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in 13 months.
Spurs’ last five Premier League games:
◎ Chelsea 2-0 Spurs
◎ Spurs 2-3 Southampton
◎ Spurs 0-2 Wolves
◉ Man City 2-3 Spurs
◎ Burnley 1-0 SpursTheir only win is against the reigning champions. ? pic.twitter.com/Xrgui9hqbl
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) February 23, 2022
The result puts a spanner in Spurs’ top-four hopes, with the Lilywhites currently in eighth place on 39 points, seven adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United but with two games in hand. Meanwhile, Burnley are up in 18th place, only two points behind Newcastle United. The Hard Tackle takes a look at how the Tottenham players performed in their disappointing result against Burnley on Wednesday.
Hugo Lloris: 7/10
Hugo Lloris made a couple of smart saves, including one great stop to deny the header from Jay Rodriguez. The Frenchman did the routine things well and easily collected most shots at goal. Unfortunately for Spurs, he could not have done much for the Burnley goal.
Cristian Romero: 6.5/10
Romero did not put a foot wrong and produced a performance with aggression and poise until Ben Mee bullied him at the back post in the decisive moment. It was a bit harsh on the Argentine, who made some timely tackles and interceptions. The 23-year-old also caught the eye, driving forwards and making things happen.
Eric Dier: 6.5/10
A solid display from Dier in front of England boss Gareth Southgate. The Englishman was composed and comfortable at the back. He defended and passed the ball well enough. He also tried to push Tottenham up the pitch with some good forward passes, although he was easily beaten to a header by Jay Rodriguez that could have resulted in a second goal.
Ben Davies: 6/10
Davies put in a solid defensive shift but did not bring anything to the table offensively, aside from forcing a smart save from Nick Pope. He was given some unusual marking tasks because he is not really a centre-back and was assigned to contain Wout Weghorst, although he generally fared OK.
Emerson Royal: 5/10
The performance from the likes of Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal was abysmal. Tottenham enjoyed much joy down the right flank, and Emerson saw more of the ball in danger zones than anybody else on the field, but he could not capitalise on it.
— Lukey Stanger #COYS #COYS #COYS (@lukey_stanger) February 24, 2022
The Brazilian put in a couple of good crosses but lacked composure once he entered the final third. He also shrugged away from the gritty work and was replaced by Lucas Moura with 25 minutes remaining on the clock.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 5/10
Bentancur struggled in frosty conditions, which was made even tougher with an early slip on the wet turf to injure himself. He played out of Burnley’s press well but did not make any notable contributions before being subbed off at half-time. Perhaps starting him twice in the span of a few days following the exhilarating contest against Manchester City was not a good idea by Conte.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 4/10
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg did not have the best of games against the Clarets as he could not cope well with the pressure from Burnley’s midfield. While he was up for the midfield battle, his performance lacked substance.
Hojbjerg and Winks in the middle aren’t good enough for a start! Bentancur…too early too tell… Levy out #Tottenham
— Shaun Gray (@Grayzer11) February 24, 2022
The Dane offered little on the ball and was too cautious, struggling to find passes between the lines to Kane and Son. The former Bayern Munich starlet was only recycling the ball out wide, which was just not good enough on the day.
Ryan Sessegnon: 5/10
Much like Emerson on the other flank, Sessegnon gave Burnley’s full-backs an easy ride during the game as they never really penetrated offensively despite having ample space in front of them. Though Sessegnon fared better and put in a few teasing low crosses, he lacked that end product in the final third and looked timid and unsure in possession at times. He also gave away the free-kick in the build-up to the goal.
Dejan Kulusevski: 7/10
Kulusevski was a rare creative spark for the Lilywhites and looked lively throughout the game. The Swedish attacker showed incisive movement and picked out right pockets on the pitch. He moved about a lot and still looked like a threat when shifted at right wing-back for the final 30 minutes. His quick feet engineered some promising positions, and he nearly curled one shot into the left-bottom corner past Pope.
Son Heung-min: 5/10
Son was very quiet during the game despite giving it his all. He had a few nice turnovers to show off his pace and a great free-kick that saw Kane hit the bar in the first half, but he also squandered a couple of great chances. He never looked like he was at his menacing best.
Harry Kane: 7.5/10
When he gets firing on all cylinders, Kane is absolutely mesmerising to watch, and some of his passing when dropping deep was simply sensational. He looked like the only Spurs player who could create something out of nothing and was a class above the rest on the pitch.
Despite feeding off scraps, he struck the crossbar with a thumping header and had a good shot or two from range that went close. Still, he did not get on the score sheet and was not as impactful as against Manchester City.
SUBSTITUTES
Harry Winks: 5.5/10
Harry Winks failed to make a significant impact from the middle of the park after coming on at half-time. He did not show much progression and just moved the ball sideways, recycling easy passes.
Lucas Moura: 5.5/10
Moura looked lively after coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute and immediately got involved in attacks but without any fruition as he squandered one great chance that came his way.
Steven Bergwijn: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
