After a run of five defeats in six games, and with top four prospects quickly slipping away, it was essential that Tottenham put on a good show as they hosted Burnley yesterday.
After impressing in both legs of Tottenham’s Europa League last 32 tie with Wolfsberger, Gareth Bale was given his third start of the Premier League for this one, whilst Sean Dyche named an unchanged Burnley side.
The Clarets were looking to extend the gap to the bottom three and would have gone eight points clear with a win.
But their game-plan was quickly thrown out the window as Gareth Bale immediately showed his manager just why he had been picked to start after just 68 seconds.
Heung-Min Son whipped a nice ball in behind the Burnley back line and Bale had the simplest of finishes to tap past a stranded Nick Pope, having done well to stay onside.
The fast Tottenham start continued as Harry Kane aimed inches wide of the post and Lucas Moura hit an effort straight at the keeper and they soon found themselves further in front.
This time Bale turned creator as he found Kane to the left of goal with a nice floated ball and the Englishman’s shot flew into the top corner with the help of a deflection.
There were very few signs of a Burnley response as they struggled to get anywhere near goal and left so much space for Spurs to exploit.
And that was exploited once again on the 30 minute mark as Reguilon’s cross was inadvertently flicked on by James Tarkowski and Moura finished from close range.
At half time, Spurs thoroughly deserved their lead and Sean Dyche would’ve had some very stern words for his players who simply weren’t good enough in the opening 45 minutes.
But whatever was said didn’t have a lasting effect as Spurs scored their fourth ten minutes after the break as Bale scored his second of the afternoon.
A swift Spurs move, made far too easy by Burnley, found Bale in acres of space on the edge of the box and the Welshman cut inside onto his left foot in familiar fashion to slot past Nick Pope.
Burnley were a little bit better going forward in the second half and had two good chances from wide as Matej Vydra nodded over and Jay Rodriguez hit the bar, but they hadn’t learnt their lessons at the back.
Spurs were a constant threat whenever they went forward, and should’ve added to their lead late on as Kane ran onto a ball into the box but scuffed his shot wide of the far post.
A day’s work well done as far as Tottenham were concerned and the three points were enough to climb back above Aston Villa and North London rivals Arsenal into eighth place.
Back to the drawing board for Burnley though who are still right in the relegation mix and are just five points clear of a resurgent Fulham in 18th.
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Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was left satisfied with what he saw on the pitch when he spoke to Sky Sports after the game: “We needed three points for the table, for the players to have a smile. That is the most important thing. We needed a good victory in the Premier League.”
“We were quite clinical, it is very good to start the game and first chance to score, third chance score a second goal and a half-time to be winning 3-0. That is important for a team that’s not playing especially well, losing matches.”
“We need points, I believe lately in the Premier League we have had periods playing well and of course we need points. Today we got them in quite a solid way, we need that.”
A bitter feeling for Burnley boss Sean Dyche though who said “You come to a Tottenham side that have been questioned, when teams are on a tough run it very rarely lasts. Really poor start from our point of view, no one is alive to it. Any nervousness or oddness we bring to these games, that calmed it all down.”
“When you are not quite on it, good sides find you out. But we have to make sure it doesn’t happen very often. We gave it away too much.”
The Clarets face a tricky couple of weeks now as they host Leicester on Wednesday before the visit of Arsenal on Saturday.
Tottenham are also in midweek action as they visit Fulham on Thursday before facing struggling Crystal Palace at the weekend.
