Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 Burnley
Now that is how to start a football match!
Jose Mourinho had, quite rightly, expected more from his new club than he got in their midweek defeat to a Marcus Rashford inspired Manchester United.
And the reaction he would have demanded was delivered within the opening 10 minutes of this Premier League encounter.
That’s how long it took captain Harry Kane and Lucas Moura to breach Burnley’s rearguard and set the north Londoners on their way to a convincing afternoon’s work.
Highlights of the game
First, Kane collected the ball from Son Heung-min and unleashed a shot into the roof of the net that left Nick Pope with no chance.
Then South Korean Son charged forward and, while Pope saved his effort, the ball wasn’t cleared and, headed on by Dele Alli, was touched home by Moura.
It was such a one-way start that the visitors’ afternoon was virtually over before it began.
In fact, it was very nearly three with Son again involved, finding Moussa Sissoko whose shot beat Pope but not the post.
Despite being pinned back for all of 20 minutes, Burnley were only denied a goal themselves by the woodwork as Robbie Brady, who scored the Clarets’ consolation goal in midweek, headed against the bar from a Dwight McNeil cross.
It was a brief respite and the player of the first half soon got the goal his play merited when Son produced one of the Premier League highlights of the season.
There was plenty of work to do when he collected the ball near his own penalty area but he embarked on a superb solo run, beating all-comers in the process, before slipping the ball expertly past Pope.
A simply brilliant goal and, if there were SBOBET Premier League odds on a winner of goal of the season, I’d say get your money on this. It will certainly be one of the contenders.
Burnley’s record of only two top flight successes against Spurs in 44 years was not going to improve this afternoon.
In their defence, they had key players absent, the latest being new signing Danny Drinkwater who only made his debut in midweek.
They would likely have made little difference though on a day in which Spurs, and Son in particular, were rampant.
With the contest over, Mourinho’s next aim must have been for a clean sheet, something Spurs had failed to keep in 10 consecutive Premier League fixtures (their longest run since August to December 2010).
The Portuguese boss got his wish and even had time to enjoy two more goals.
Kane rifled home his second nine minutes after the restart, helped by more sloppy defending from the visitors.
Then Sissoko drove forward, played a one-two with Kane and curled the ball into the bottom corner beyond Pope, one of the few Burnley players to emerge from the match with his reputation unscathed.
In between that, there was a wonderful moment – Burnley’s only bright spot of the afternoon – when former Spurs winger Lennon replaced Brady.
He received a wonderful reception for spending the majority of his career – spanning a decade, more than 350 games and one League Cup triumph – in north London.
His former club are up to fifth in the table. His current employers drop to 13th, three points above the relegation zone after their third defeat in a row.
Key statistics
Son has been directly involved in 15 goals in his 15 appearances at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions since it opened in April, more than any other player (nine goals, six assists).
Kane has scored seven goals in nine league appearances against Burnley.
Mourinho has seen his side score five goals in the Premier League for the first time since January 2015 (Chelsea 5-0 Swansea). During his near two and a half years at the helm, his Manchester United team never scored more than four goals in his 93 league games with the club.
Burnley’s most recent away victory at Tottenham came in a League Cup tie in 1983. Their last league victory at Spurs was in 1974.
This was Mourinho’s first home victory against Burnley at the fourth attempt (all the other three matches have been draws).
Burnley have won just three of their 29 Premier League games in London.
What’s next?
Spurs travel to Bayern Munich next, hoping to seal qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League and avenge an embarrassing 7-2 defeat to the same opponents in October. They are at Wolves in the Premier League next weekend.
Burnley host Newcastle a week today (December 14).
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