Tottenham Hotspur continued their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season with a rampant, 5-2 victory away to newly-promoted Burnley on Saturday afternoon, with Ange Postecoglou’s side surging to second in the table following a third successive win in the top-flight.
Just a few days on from their early Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Fulham, the Lilywhites were dealt a further blow after conceding inside four minutes following Lyle Foster’s early strike, albeit with a clinical comeback – including a stunning hat-trick for new skipper Heung-min Son – helping to power the visitors to a deserved three points at Turf Moor.
Who impressed for Tottenham against Burnley?
It had looked to be an uncomfortable afternoon for the north London outfit amid their early setback, although the aforementioned Son took charge to help steer his side to victory, with the South Korean sensation notably producing a delightful dinked finish over the onrushing James Trafford to draw the away side level on the 16-minute mark.
Having failed to score or register an assist in the league this season prior to the trip to Lancashire, the 31-year-old certainly made up for lost time after producing two more ruthless finishes after the break, with the decision to deploy the experienced ace in a number nine role having certainly paid off for Postecoglou.
It is fair to say that Son wasn’t alone in sparking that brutal rout for the visitors, however, with summer signing James Maddison – who was dubbed a “joy to watch” by The Athletic’s Tim Spiers – pulling the strings effortlessly in the centre of the park, while getting in on the act himself with a curling finish from range.
That stellar strike epitomised a performance of sheer class from the Englishman as he also registered one key pass and completed three of his four attempted dribbles, proving a real thorn in the side of Vincent Kompany’s men, while defender Cristian Romero also got in on the act with a sensational finish on the stroke of half-time
Aside from those who got themselves on the scoresheet, one man who also proved just why he is “sickeningly good” – in the words of footballJOE’s Hunter Godson – was promising full-back, Destiny Udogie, with the young Italian simply shining down the left flank.
How did Udogie perform against Burnley?
Signed from Udinese on an initial £15m deal last year, before instantly returning to the Serie A side on loan, the 20-year-old had been something of an unknown quantity to most when he arrived back at N17 over the summer, although both fans and pundits alike are now seemingly fully aware of his talents.
A player who could well get “into nearly every team in the world already” – in the words of Godson – the Verona native notably helped to tee up Maddison with an assist after winning back possession high up the pitch, showing great composure to pick out the former Leicester City man who seemingly had the freedom of Turf Moor in the centre of the park.
That was also evidence of the youngster’s battling nature and determination to reclaim the ball for his side as he won eight of his nine ground duels on the day, while also making five tackles, three clearances and two interceptions as a marker of his ability to sniff out the danger.
As his assist also illustrated, the exciting left-back has that much-needed composure to boot when he himself gets on the ball, having enjoyed a standout pass accuracy rate of 93% from his 66 touches, with his match rating of 7.8, as per Sofascore, behind only that of Son, Maddison and Manor Solomon among his starting teammates.
Of course, it is still early days in Udogie’s time in England and in Tottenham’s season, although it will be hard for Spurs supporters to not get carried away about the quality that they have seen so far under the new regime.