Tottenham crash back down to earth as Burnley claim big scalp in survival bid

Tottenham Hotspur came crashing back down to earth by suffering a 1-0 defeat to Burnley, who boosted their chances of escaping the relegation zone.

Tottenham went into the game looking to back up their spectacular weekend win over Manchester City. As Antonio Conte had confirmed before, Harry Kane was fit enough to keep his place up front. Thus, their lineup was unchanged from the City clash.

Burnley brought in James Tarkowski and Jay Rodriguez as their only two changes from their win over Brighton.

It took the game a while to get going. Hugo Lloris made a comfortable save from Josh Brownhill, for example, while at the other end Cristian Romero aimed wide for Spurs.

Tottenham’s next chance came via another defender, Emerson Royal, but his attempt was even more off target.

Indeed, there had only been one effort on target (by Brownhill) by the time the half-time whistle blew.

Tottenham made a change at the interval. Harry Winks replaced Rodrigo Bentancur, who had taken a knock early on.

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Second half sees Burnley beat Tottenham

Spurs stepped it up instantly after the re-start, when a header from Kane hit the bar.

Burnley also went the aerial route, with Ben Mee heading into Lloris’ hands after a free kick.

Kane kept the pressure on for Tottenham, his next shot edging wide from the outskirts of the area.

Dejan Kulusevski was the next to find space in a promising position for Spurs. He too curled a shot wide.

Tottenham had been building momentum, but it was Burnley who took the lead moments later. Mee met a Brownhill delivery at the back post, heading it home in the 71st minute.

Burnley could have doubled their lead after a scramble in the box following a free kick, but nobody could turn the ball home.

In the last minute of normal time, Nick Pope made a save to deny Steven Bergwijn.

Burnley held on, though, meaning they are now just two points from safety and with one or two games in hand compared to some of their relegation rivals. Spurs remain eighth, seven points from the top four with two games in hand.

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