Tottenham 2 Burnley 1
Tottenham welcomed Burnley to North London with the visitors’ fate all but decided in their maiden season in the Premier League. They needed to win all of their remaining games and would have to hope that their rivals lost all of theirs. A big ask from The Clarets.
Ange Postecoglou’s side needed points to keep the pressure up on Aston Villa in fourth place. Having lost their last four games, they were looking to end their worst run of form in the Premier League this season. Not something they needed as they tried to chase down Champions League qualification.
However, it was the visitors who almost opened the scoring. As a deep cross was whipped into the box, it was met by the head of Vitinho at the back post. Only an acrobatic one-handed stop from Vicario was able to deny The Clarets an early goal.
Kulusevski then clipped in a great cross from the left, which was met on the half-volley by Johnson at the back post. Muric got down well to make a great block, at the expense of a corner. Both sides were looking to get forward whenever the chance presented itself.
Credit: @premierleague
Berge then went on a mazy run from the edge of his own box, skipping past Tottenham challenges. He spotted the run of Bruun Larsen and slotted the ball through the hosts’ defence for his teammate. The midfielder calmly tucked the ball past Vicario to silence the home crowd.
This is one of the main problems Postecoglou is having with his high defensive line. His side are opened up easier than a universal credit account. Despite the manager’s reluctance to change his tactics, this cannot continue if they want some success.
That said, they were playing a side who had seen less clean sheets than most Amsterdam brothels. This came back to haunt them when Porro ran through on goal and drilled the ball past Muric at his near post to draw Spurs level only seven minutes later.
Considering how good Vincent Kompany was as a defender, it is somewhat of a surprise that his side look about as unstable as Martha from Baby Reindeer at the back. This was the 75th goal they had conceded this season, something which makes survival seem untenable.
Muric then gifted the ball to Johnson on the edge of the box. As he ran towards the byline, he opted to go for goal from a near impossible angle rather than squaring it to either of the three Tottenham players in far better positions. They all let him know their thoughts on his life choices.
Burnley almost retook the lead in the second half when Odobert cut inside and fired a shot off at goal. It took a slight deflection and narrowly went over the crossbar. As O’Shea recycled the ball from the corner, his cross found Esteve, but his looping header landed on the roof of the net.
Credit: @premierleague
Maddison picked the ball up on the left and ran at the Burnley defence. As he dummied a shot and checked onto his left foot, the goal opened up. His shot was weak and easily saved by the Burnley keeper but he really should have worked Muric more.
As Tottenham tried to break down the visitors, Son did brilliantly to drill the ball across the goal line to pick out Johnson at the back post. Somehow, he managed to put the ball wide when it seemed easier to score. Time was beginning to run out for Spurs and the fans were becoming frustrated.
The hosts were throwing players forward in every attack. Romero did brilliantly to cut the ball back from the byline to Sarr but his thunderous effort was well saved by Muric as The Clarets tried desperately to hold onto their Premier League status.
Maddison then fed the ball into van de Ven outside the box and he ran past the Burnley defence before slotting a left-footed effort into the far corner like a striker. The Burnley fans knew at this late stage that was the end of top-flight football for them for the foreseeable future.
Ange Postecoglou’s side held on for the three points and condemned Burnley to relegation. Vincent Kompany’s side will learn from this season and no doubt look to bounce back at the first time of asking. Spurs kept their feint hopes of a top four finish alive with this win.
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