Premier League Football: Tottenham win again as Spurs fans celebrate the attacking Ange Postecoglou era
Many were dubious at the start of Ange Postecoglou’s reign as manager of Tottenham, but Spurs fans are now on the Ange-train as the Aussie leads his team to another exciting victory.
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Son Heung-Min grabbed a hat-trick and James Maddison again shone for Tottenham Hotspur, but it was the man on the touchline who stole the hearts of the supporters.
Ange Postecoglou was the last man off the pitch as he applauded the fans who had spent much of the game serenading him as his side ran out 5-2 winners over Burnley at Turf Moor.
The Australian has only been in position a few months but he is already starting to resemble a saviour, with Spurs looking unrecognisable from the conservative, sometimes tedious side managed by Antonio Conte. They are now a free-flowing, attacking outfit who looked capable of scoring every time they pushed forward. The Spurs supporters, delighted with what they were watching, responded with: “We’ve got our Tottenham back.”
And the good news for Tottenham fans is that Postecoglou said this was only the beginning of the revolution.
“I’ve got a picture in my head about what I want the team to look like and I keep saying we’re still at the beginning of it, we’re still building and there’s a lot to be done. It’s about putting all the pieces together. There are some really good footballers in this club and they have the ability to play in the way this team needs,” the Spurs head coach said.
In just a few weeks he has managed to get Son and Maddison linking up in a way that makes them look as if they have played together for years. The Spurs captain scored three but it was the 78 million dollar man from Leicester City who really stole the show.
The 26-year-old pulled the strings, roaming behind the front line and toying with the Burnley defenders in the box as he found space for himself to unleash dangerous balls and create chance after chance.
He got the goal his performance deserved with a perfectly placed right-footed strike from outside the area in the 54th minute and it was clear there would be no coming back for Burnley.
Vincent Kompany said there is not a bigger step up in world football than from the Sky Bet Championship to the Premier League but that is not going to prevent his side from playing the attractive football which saw them promoted so comfortably last season.
They showed they are still capable of playing with flair and Lyle Foster and Luca Koleosho provided Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie with some difficult moments.
The home pairing could hardly have had a better start as Foster scored his second of the season to give Burnley the lead after four minutes.
Koleosho outmuscled Porro down the left and crossed for Foster, who finished past Guglielmo Vicario with his first touch. But there was still a naivety to their performance, which was reflected in the scoreline.
“I’ve spent 11 years of my life in the Premier League, so I have a pretty good understanding of the level,” Kompany said. “I don’t think anyone is naive going into this division – we know it is a challenge if you look at the total amount of points the three promoted teams have got this season. There were positives but not enough to compete with them.”
While at times the attack looked like it belonged in this division, the defence seemed like it is going to struggle. Spurs’ goals were good quality – their first was a nice give and go between Manor Solomon and Son, the second a Cristian Romero rocket, the third a Maddison curling effort, and the fourth and fifth moments of quality from Son.
For their fourth, Postecoglou’s side walked through the Burnley back line. Solomon played it to Son inside the area, who fired past James Trafford in goal. Some of the home support had seen enough and headed for the exit after 65 minutes. Four minutes later, Son wrapped up his hat-trick.
Josh Brownhill got a consolation goal deep into stoppage time but it looks like it is going to be a tough journey for Burnley this season. For Spurs, it appears to be the start of something exciting.
COPYRIGHT – THE SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON
Originally published as Premier League Football: Tottenham win again as Spurs fans celebrate the attacking Ange Postecoglou era
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