Heads we win at Turf Moor - report and debrief

A solitary goal from Heung-Min Son was enough to take all three points against Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday evening.

A scrappy contest of very few clear chances was settled with 14 minutes remaining when Harry Kane headed a corner into the path of Son, who nodded past goalkeeper Nick Pope from eight yards out. It was Son’s fifth goal in our last four games and the 29th time our two forwards have combined for a goal in the Premier League.

The half-time statistics showed us to have had 65 per cent possession but we hadn’t managed a shot on target as the Clarets dropped deep whenever we had the ball, making it difficult to penetrate and test Pope in goal. Our passing needed to be precise in the final third, but it wasn’t quite happening for us.

Instead, it was Burnley with two efforts on goal, the first on 38 minutes with Ashley Westwood hitting a first time shot from distance which Hugo Lloris gathered diving low to his right. And two minutes before the interval, Johann Gudmundsson had an effort from 20 yards but our skipper saved again.

The home side so nearly opened the scoring in the 71st minute when Westwood delivered a corner right into the crowded six-yard box and James Tarkowski climbed highest to beat Lloris with his header but Kane had dropped back onto the goal-line to head the ball away and we cleared the danger.

Just three minutes later we had our first clear opportunity when Tanguy Ndombele’s first-time pass set Son away but Kevin Long defended superbly to get back and block his shot. Having taken 74 minutes for our first shot on target, our second effort on goal two minutes later broke the deadlock and for all our possession, it came from a set piece. Substitute Erik Lamela sent over a corner, Kane was moving away from goal but managed to glance his header into the path of Son, who leapt up and nodded past Pope.

Burnley looked for a way back into the game from a couple of late corners but Lloris eased the pressure by coming out and claiming them both well, while we introduced Joe Rodon into our defence in the closing minutes for his Spurs debut and held out for a third straight away win in the Premier League, climbing up to fifth in the table.

Combination unlocks Clarets

It was proving to be a night of frustration at a rainy Turf Moor as we struggled to really break down Burnley’s determined defence. The Clarets got men behind the ball and plugged all the gaps to prevent us from finding a way through and were heading away any set-pieces we managed to force, so it was a pleasant surprise when we did break through from a corner.

And it was that trusty combination that did the trick once again, Kane doing really well to divert Lamela’s delivery to the back post where Son powered a header into the roof of the net.

Incredibly, that was the ninth time already this season that the two players have combined for a goal, which equals our previous best for an entire Premier League campaign! That tally has also been achieved by Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton (in both 1992/93 and 1994/95), and Sheringham and Chris Armstrong (in 1995/96).

The victory means we have won our opening three away games in the Premier League for only the second time in the competition, previously happening in 2017/18.

Jose Mourinho had made four changes to the team that started our last Premier League game against West Ham on 18 October. Eric Dier returned from injury and joined Matt Doherty, Ben Davies and Lucas Moura in place of Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, Sergio Reguilon and Steven Bergwijn. Rodon’s late introduction following his recent signing from Swansea not only marked his first appearance for us, but also his maiden outing in the Premier League.

Reaction on Spurs TV

'Very important points'

Jose told Spurs TV after the game: "It's the same points as 6-1 at Old Trafford. I told Sky before the game I knew that it was not the game to score three, four or five goals... I knew. They need points, Sean (Dyche) is very experienced, he knows his players better than anyone, he knows how to try to stop the better teams to play the football they want... I knew.

"They press very well, they defend very well, their two strikers are very aggressive and it's the kind of opponent that in any moment, a long ball in the box or a set-piece and they can score, so it was about being solid and we were that, and it was about getting one of the chances we had. We didn't have many, we scored one and we have three points, very important points."

Match data

Goal: Spurs – Son 76.

Yellow cards: Burnley – Brownhill, Long.

Referee: Michael Oliver.

Venue: Turf Moor.

Weather: Partly cloudy, gentle breeze, six degrees.