Burnley 1 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur: A better second half earns a point on the road

A Dele Alli penalty kick in the second half was good enough to take a point against a scrappy Burnley side at Turf Moor, 1-1.

With Spurs’ roster looking more like a M*A*S*H unit than a football club at this point, Jose Mourinho was forced to employ a formation of five center-backs, though it was uncertain if Eric Dier would play in the back line or as a defensive midfielder. Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn also started after their availability was put in doubt yesterday by Mourinho due to fatigue.

First Half

1’ - Kickoff from Turf Moor. It looks like Dier has dropped into the back line so it’s three in the back.

4’ - Bright start as Spurs have a couple of half-chances so far. Japhet Tanganga and Jan Vertonghen are both pushing high up the pitch.

6’ - Chance for Burnley as Dier clears a ball out with his midriff. It falls directly to Chris Wood for a one-time effort that goes over the crossbar.

9’ - Desperate defending needed to keep the ball out from the corner kick. A chance off the post that straddled the goal line on the deflection leads to chaos in the six yard box. Somehow, Spurs get it cleared to keep it scoreless.

13’ - Goal Burnley. Tanganga commits a foul that takes him way out of position. Dier clears a cross out but leads to a shot on target. Hugo makes the initial save but Chris Wood buries the rebound. 1-0.

19’ - Erik Lamela Yellow Card. Drink.

21’ - Terrible foul given away by Alderweireld leads to a free kick from thirty yards out. McNeil takes a good crack at it but Hugo makes a diving save and secures it.

30’ - Chance for Spurs as Lamela makes something out a mis-play by Burnley. His shot is ultimately saved from 20 yards out. He probably should have fed Vertonghen on the first touch out wide but that’s conjecture.

35’ - A simple bad touch out of play by Toby sums up how most of this first half has gone.

38’ - Burnley are far and away the better side right now as they get another chance to get a goal. Westwood gets on the end of a volley but it goes wide of the net.

45+1’ - Burnley comes close to getting a second goal before halftime as Jay Rodriguez gets a headed effort blocked. Bardsley tries a volley that goes above the far corner.

HT: Burnley 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur. One way traffic for much of the match as Burnley have been in control.

Second Half

46’ - Double sub at the break for Spurs. Lucas and Giovani Lo Celso come on for Oliver Skipp and Tanguy Ndombele. Spurs are now in a back four as Dier moves into the midfield.

49’ - Penalty to Spurs! Lo Celso feeds Lamela just inside the penalty area. Ben Mee was late getting over and clips Lamela’s leg to take him down.

50’ - GOAL SPURS! 1-1! Dele buries the penalty after sending the keeper the wrong way.

51’ - Charles Taylor goes into the book after his foul on Lucas.

52’ - Spurs look much better with the double sub and formation change. Lo Celso has had more influence on the match in seven minutes than anyone did in the first half.

56’ - After nearly giving away a penalty, Sanchez takes down Wood to earn a booking.

57’ - Tarkovsky is the next to go into the book for his foul on Dele. I would have liked to get advantage played there instead of killing the game.

59’ - Yet another booking as Jack Cork gets a card for taking down Lucas. Jonathan Moss has been busy this half.

64’ - Spurs are holding possession well and working the ball into dangerous positions. After a woeful first half, the tactical change is making a difference as they look like the better side this half.

67’ - Lo Celso gets a little overzealous after a long spell of position and tries a curling effort from way out. The shot ends about seven rows deep.

70’ - An absolutely gorgeous ball by Lo Celso springs Spurs on the attack. Lucas gets a cross in that is cleared with a flick by Mee, otherwise that looked like a goal opportunity.

71’ - Burnley gets on the break after the chance from Spurs. Eric Dier is forced to make a match-saving tackle about ten yards out on Vydra.

76’ - Hendrick finally gets his overdue booking as he cuts down Bergwijn.

77’ - A long range shot by Wood is rather ambitious as Hugo plays the short hop perfectly to save the shot.

78’ - Moss isn’t done with bookings as he hands a card to Bergwijn.

78’ - Final sub for Spurs. Serge Aurier comes in for Erik Lamela.

80’ - Beware low flying aircraft. Tanganga sends a ball into the deepest rows of the stands. Somewhere, Roman Pavlyuchenko just made rocket ship noises.

82’ - Close for Spurs! Lo Celso gets a fantastic shot off that bent through the Burnley defense but just couldn’t sneak into the net.

84’ - Butt-clenching time for Spurs’ defense. A bad header by Sanchez and a terrible deflection leads to a point blank chance for Vydra. Hugo makes a huge save to deny the Burnley attacker.

86’ - Another chance for Spurs as Dele tries a one-time effort from 15 yards out after a great ball by Serge. It goes out for a corner, though.

90’ - Burnley make a sub as Aaron Lennon comes on for Hendrick.

90+1’ - Dele earns a free kick for Spurs as he’s taken down by Westwood in the Burnley half.

90+2’ - Lo Celso’s tactical foul earns him a booking.

90+3’ - The Yellow Card Parade isn’t done yet as Ashley Westwood earns a booking from Jonathan Moss.

FULL TIME: Neither side can find a winner and will each take a point.

Thoughts on the Match

• We’re not going to discuss that first half because woof. Credit to Mourinho for making changes at halftime. The second half was better but that was a low bar to clear.
• Giovani Lo Celso, despite a couple of bad giveaways in stoppage time, was a difference maker. He made some incredible passes and it’s hard to know where Spurs would be if he had gotten that red card a couple matches ago.
• Erik Lamela made his first start in quite some time and wasn’t great, but he earned the penalty that gave Spurs their equalizer.
• It saddens me that Ndombele is basically broken right now. He just hasn’t been healthy since the opening weeks of the season.
• Tip of the cap to Eric Dier. He had a couple of nervy moments with iffy clearances, but he put in a shift today at both CB and DM.
• Spurs now have a trip to Germany mid-week to take on RB Leipzig in Champions League play.