Luke Adcock
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to take Tottenham to 5th place in the Premier League, whilst the loss for Burnley doesn’t change that they currently sit 7th, in their best-ever top-flight season. Here’s five things we learned.
Sissoko still not good enough
Mauricio Pochettino is giving Moussa Sissoko plenty of playing time to try and prove himself. Yet for the umpteenth time this season, he has less than impressed. His passing was off, his dribbling not much better – and to top it all off, he failed to score a golden opportunity where he was one-on-one with the Burnley keeper and sent his shot, and the  second effort after it rebounded to him straight at the goalkeeper Nick Pope. Spurs fans commented that had it been anyone – literally anyone else – it was a certain goal. Surely Tottenham will look to replace him soon?
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Burnley fans don’t like Dele Alli
Alli was a big talking point in this game, at the centre of attention right from the start. First of all he was booked for a strong challenge in the first few minutes, and then a couple later was brought down in the box to win the penalty that Kane subsequently scored.
These first six minutes from Alli were enough to make him public enemy number 1 of the Turf Moor faithful, who met his every touch of the ball with a chorus of booing right up until his departure from the game when he was subbed off towards the end of the match. However, as the commentator in the game aptly said, they’ll be cheering Alli on at the World Cup in a few months time, and his role in this game will be long forgotten.
Tottenham know how to bounce back
It was a harrowing afternoon for Spurs in their previous game against Man City. They were steamrolled by Pep Guardiola’s seemingly unstoppable side 4-1, in a game that all but put an end to any remaining title challenge Tottenham had left to muster.
This performance and result against Burnley, one of this season’s solid performers, shows that Spurs can bounce back from disappointment with good results, something which is crucial to do well over the course of a season. If they can do this and combine it with some consistency in their performances, they’ll be confident in achieving top 4 this season.
Burnley have improved a lot
This may not be something we learned from this game but it’s only fair to mention how brilliantly Burnley have been doing this season. Last campaign, they finished in 16th with 40 points. This season so far, they’re in 7th with 32 points – just 8 off their total for all of last season.
Last season Burnley only had 23 points at this stage and had -8 goal difference. This year after 19 games, they have +1. No small feat, and a big testament to the players and manager in how they’ve improved and they’re definitely set for a great season by their standards.
Kane can be a record breaker
All hope seemed to be gone for Kane matching, let alone beating, Alan Shearer’s record for most goals ever scored in a calendar year in the Premier League. But by collecting his seventh – seventh – match ball of the year, he’s shot right to the top to share the pedestal with Shearer.
The most promising thing for Kane is there is still a match remaining in 2017 for him to score just the one goal needed to become the highest scoring player in a Premier League calendar year. He’ll be full of confidence after this game, so who’s to say he can’t?