Match Report: Tottenham 2 – 1 Burnley

Tottenham earned an invaluable 2-1 win over Burnley thanks to goals from Dele Alli and Danny Rose.

Mauricio Pochettino favored a return to a back four, albeit not precisely the one that came before Tottenham’s three-at-the-back formation from the victory over Hull City.

Rather than the 4-2-3-1 that seemed to be coming back into vogue, Tottenham lined up in a rough 4-3-3. With Toby Alderweireld out with a reportedly non-serious back issue, Eric Dier again appeared in central defense. Harry Winks began in midfield, with Mousa Dembélé returning from injury alongside him.

This reconfiguration kept Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli forward, almost playing parallel or even ahead of Harry Kane. With Dembélé helping in possession, Tottenham spent the bulk of the opening exchanges looking as if they were headed for another emphatic win at White Hart Lane.

Burnley proved determined defensively however, and Tottenham couldn’t find a way through. Their resistance paid off in the 21st minute when a mistake by Walker gave Burnley back possession within Tottenham’s third. The ball bounced around the box until Ashley Barnes reached it with an outstretched foot to give the visitors the lead.

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Despite taking the lead, Burnley didn’t grow into the game thereafter. Indeed, Spurs sustained their pressure, and it too paid off when Walker made up for his mistake on the other end six minutes earlier and set up Alli for the equalizer.

Prior to that, Alli was looking well off his heights. A chance in the opening minutes went wasted when the 20-year-old skied a shot.

Tottenham went into the interval having reclaiming the momentum but not having it reflected on the scoreboard.

Not much changed after half-time, including the scoreline. Burnley did grow into the match and on a couple of occasions made Hugo Lloris nervous, though ultimately they couldn’t find much on target.

After 63 minutes Pochettino determined it was time for a change. Dembélé was brought off in favor of Moussa Sissoko. The Frenchman’s failed to impress in the chances he’s been given this season, but here he made the difference.

Spurs reclaimed possession after a Burnley free-kick and the visitors found themselves outnumbered in their own half.

Sissoko led the charge. What he lacks in pace he made up for in vision, finding Rose as the left-back surged into Burnley’s box. The England international deftly took a shot with his left foot, finding the back of Heaton’s net. Tottenham had the lead with about 20 minutes left to play.

Next on the pitch as a substitute was Heung-min Son in favor of Alli. The South Korean was given a chance to set up Harry Winks within minutes of coming on, but opted instead to take a shot well wide of target.

The theme overall for the night for Spurs was, once again, the full-backs. Walker set up the first goal and Rose took the second on his own. Though they didn’t enjoy the liberation of the three-at-the-back scheme against Hull, they found plenty of room to move forward against Burnley’s narrow defending.

Chances missed from Kane, Son, Sissoko and substitute Ben Davies flavored the last few minutes of this match, but ultimately Burnley couldn’t do anything on the opposite end of the pitch.

Next: Ronald Koeman Dismisses Tottenham's Inquiry Into Ross Barkley

This is Tottenham’s first consecutive victory in over two months. It allows them to keep pace with Manchester United below them and Manchester City above them.

Stay tuned at HotspurHQ for more analysis in the coming days.