Burnley 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane’s much anticipated comeback was spoiled at Turf Moor on Saturday lunchtime, as Sean Dyche’s Burnley shocked Spurs and walked away with all three points.
That the Clarets fought tooth and nail was no surprise, but the way they attacked the game with the scores level may have caught Spurs off their guard. And it was Burnley’s in-form strike duo Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood who scored either side of a Kane equaliser.
It all means that Spurs’ hopes of winning the Premier League have taken a mighty blow, while Burnley has moved away from the bottom three places, now six points clear and up in 13th place. The Premier League 2019 betting odds on Mauricio Pochettino’s team lifting the title are lengthening rapidly, as are the chances of Burnley going down.
Highlights of the game
The first half went much as expected as Spurs zipped the ball around with crisp passing and fast movement, while Burnley defended in numbers and tried to hit the visitors with a combination of long balls and fast breaks. The outcome was a goalless first 45 minutes, though Barnes came close after a sweeping Burnley move but his shot flew just over the bar, and Kane headed a good chance into the hands of the Burnley keeper.
Tom Heaton has been in superb form since his return to the Clarets’ team. And while he probably had a quieter day than he expected, he was called into action by a brilliant piece of play from Kane shortly after the break. The comeback kid made space for himself with quick feet and unleashed a beauty of a shot destined for the top corner, but Heaton flung himself across the goal to tip over.
It’s well worth watching the Premier League 2019 highlights to see a world class shot and save by the two England men.
Heung-Min Son has filled Harry Kane’s goal scoring shoes in the England man’s absence but he struggled to make much impression on a Burnley defence, well marshalled by man-of-the-match James Tarkowski. And then, on the hour, the Clarets stunned Spurs with the opener.
Young winger Dwight McNeill won the ball in midfield and earned a corner after a mazy run, and Chris Wood rose highest to head into the corner of the Spurs net from the dead ball kick.
Spurs fought back quickly and were level on 65 minutes when the quick thinking Danny Rose took a throw-in, about ten yards further forward than where the ball went out, and hurled his throw over the top of the Burnley defence to Kane who finished clinically.
The Whites had to wait until second half injury time before Christian Eriksen snatched a dramatic winner against the Clarets at Wembley in December. And they went for another late win here, but then so did Burnley as Dyche threw on Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson. And it was the Icelandic winger who made the difference, rolling a clever pass across the penalty area for Barnes to tap in at the far post.
Turf Moor erupted as Spurs title hopes looked is disarray.
Key statistics
This was a big win for Burnley at pre-match SBOBET odds of 4.80 but in the end it was well deserved. Spurs dominated possession with 69 per cent of the ball, but while the shot count was won by the visitors 17 to ten, only two of the Clarets’ shots were from outside the area while ten of Spurs’ were.
It was a magnificent eight for the Clarets. Both Barnes and Wood have moved on to eight league goals and look very likely to finish the season in double figures. There aren’t many teams outside the top six that wouldn’t pay good money for a strike partnership like this.
Dyche’s team looks back to its best again, having gone eight games unbeaten since losing to Everton on Boxing Day.
It ended a run of four consecutive wins for Spurs, but it’s back-to-back away defeats in the league for the title chasers. And, amazingly Spurs still hasn’t drawn after 27 games this season, winning 20 and losing seven.
What’s next?
After winning a game they weren’t expected to, the Clarets now have a big week with games against teams in the mix in the bottom eight. First they travel to Newcastle on Tuesday and then they welcome Crystal Palace to Turf Moor.
Spurs has a rather different challenge with two huge London derbies on the way. They travel away to Chelsea and that will be a tough enough game, but then it’s the North London derby when Unai Emery’s Arsenal visits Wembley.
What a week!
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