26  Phil BARDSLEY
  6  Ben MEE (c)
28  Kevin LONG
  3  Charlie TAYLOR

17  Johann Berg GUDMUNDSSON
  4  Jack CORK
16  Steven DEFOUR     
37  Scott ARFIELD  (21  Nahki WELLS  86)

13  Jeff HENDRICK  (  9  Sam VOKES  71)

11  Chris WOOD  (10  Ashley BARNES  35)

Unused subs: 
22  Anders LINDEGAARD
  2  Matt LOWTON
18  Ashley WESTWOOD
19  Jonathan WALTERS
 

24  Serge AURIER
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN
  6  Davinson SANCHEZ
33  Ben DAVIES

15  Eric DIER  (11  Erik LAMELA  63)
17  Moussa SISSOKO     

  7  Heung-Min SON  (19  Mousa DEMBELE  78)
20  DELE Alli       (18  Fernando LLORENTE  87)
23  Christian ERIKSEN

10  Harry KANE     

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
16  Kieran TRIPPIER
  3  Danny ROSE
21  Juan FOYTH
 

With Harry Winks having to miss the game with an ankle knock, Mauricio Pochettino had an enforced change to make for Tottenham's trip to Burnley, while Rose and Dembele dropped out and with Davinson Sanchez fit again, there was different look to the Spurs side.  A quick start put the home side at a disadvantage, which they could not deal with and it ended up an easy three points for Spurs and an easy three goals for Harry Kane.

The need to begin picking up points again and going on a run after the defeat at Manchester City was necessary and this was a good reaction to that defeat.  They way things are going, it looks unlikely that anyone will catch City, but as last year's mantra was ... "We go again".

A lunging block by Dele Alli on Taylor in the fourth minute earned him a yellow card, but he didn’t touch the defender, although he took him out on his follow-through, but the falling Taylor swung a boot at Dele as he was prostrate. This got the crowd riled, as they followed up on what the media had been spouting about Dele’s challenge last week at Manchester City.  Meanwhile, back to the football and Tottenham engineered a good break when Son got the ball wide on the left and came inside, before releasing Ben Davies outside him, but the Welshman’s cross was way too high for everyone.

Alli further upset the home crowd when he took on Kevin Long in the box and the defender stuck a leg across him and he went down, with Michael Oliver pointing to the spot. Despite their arguments, the Burnley players had to get out of the penalty area before Harry Kane stepped up to bury the ball in the net high to the keeper’s left, as Pope went the wrong way.  Harry had obviously been practising his penalties, as this was our first in the Premier League this season.

Spurs were soon on the attack again, with Son forcing Pope to dive down to his right to get behind the ball. A good passing move from back to front saw Kane take three players on before having his shot blocked, but the corner came to nothing. Burnley had a break when Gudmundsson got away on their left, but his cross was caught by Lloris, with only Wood deeper in the penalty area. Hugo was the instigator of a good move, exchanging risky passes with Sanchez before Davinson beat a man smartly and set Son away, but his shot was blocked. Another blocked shot from Dele saw Kane darting in ahead of Pope and he was just unable to turn the ball in, with it going a foot wide.

Burnley’s first corner in the 22nd minute ked to Tottenham breaking away and Dele Alli released Moussa Sissoko through on the edge and the shot was blocked by the keeper’s legs and although Sissoko got to the rebound, Bardsley blocked it on the line after Pope had taken the sting off it as he closed his legs as the effort was heading between them.  While Burnley were closing Spurs down at the back, they weren’t quite as tight elsewhere on the pitch. A loose kick out by the Burnley keeper was knocked back towards him by Eriksen with Kane his target and he blazed one over the bar, with Son and Dele free to his left. Dele became a target for the Burnley players, with Cork injuring himself and Defour taking a swipe at him while the ball had gone.

Wood was on the end of Burnley’s best chance of the half, as he slid in, but Lloris beat him to it and the striker injured himself somehow. It ended up with him having to be substituted, with Barnes coming on and he was able to be a more effective out ball for the home side.  The rest of the half featured more boos for Dele and another Davies cross with too much on it for the men in the middle.

At the start of the second half it was another poor kick by Pope that almost handed Spurs a second goal. It was knocked back towards the Burnley goal, Kane hooked it on to Son and his neat ball into the box to Eriksen couldn’t be gathered first time and his subsequent shot was blocked.  Some indecision in the Spurs box from a free-kick saw Davinson and Hugo fail to make a move for it and it had to be scrambled wide for a corner.  From it, Long bundled over Vertonghen before Mee put the ball over the top, with no foul given by the ref.  A couple of times Spurs failed with a through pass in the last third, while Burnley looked to play longer with Barnes on up front. When Aurier broke away, put in by Kane, he squared the ball for Son in the clear in the box, who put his shot way over the bar with only the keeper to beat.  It was like the miss he had last season at Turf Moor.

Sissoko was booked for a tug on Arfield, but Burnley players had been doing the same without the same outcome. Alli then robbed the ball, put Kane away on his left and the ball across to Eriksen had far too much weight on it, with a clear chance going amiss in the process. Dele then passed to Kane and as he tried to curl it in, it came off Taylor for a corner, not very far wide anyway. Sanchez won it in the air and Hendrick cleared from inside the six yard box. That was a bit like Dier’s goal last season, but it didn’t drop to a Tottenham man. Both the crowd and the home players were intent on winding Dele up, but he wasn’t helped by fouls on him, which the referee didn’t give. He did give a foul against Barnes, as he pulled Aurier down in the Spurs area after Serge had initially repelled a first attack, when Hendrick crossed into the box behind Sanchez.

Pantomime season was in full swing when the home supporters roared for every decision which wasn’t there. It came to a crescendo when they wanted a penalty when Davies pushed Barnes over, but he was offside. More ire poured off the Burnley sections when Dele turned the ball around the corner for Kane and then got in at the far post for the ensuing cross, but he fouled Long, so cue the boos.  They were soon silenced, when Mee’s ball 35 yards out went straight to Sissoko in the centre circle and his straight ball let Harry Kane in on Pope and he finished clinically sliding the ball past him to give Spurs a two goal lead that they should have secured earlier in the game. The goal caught Burnley wide open, but prompted Vokes coming on for Hendrick and potentially giving Spurs more room to work in midfield.

Spurs were almost undone when Sanchez moved forward into the Burnley half and then gave the ball away. It was quickly moved up to Barnes, who got across Jan, but his touch was just heavy enough to take it through for Hugo to come out and claim inside his area. Burnley showed their intent when Barnes launched the ball towards Santa’s sleigh and it came down with presents attached to it, causing Lloris worry about what to do with it, but his touch was enough to take the ball away from Vokes.

When Spurs attacked again, the ball was won by Burnley on the edge of their box, but Harry Kane won the ball back with a tackle and it went to Ben Davies, moving it swiftly to Dele, whose first time ball found Harry on the edge of the box. His first touch took it away from Long and he drove his shot left footed low past Pope for a fine goal to secure his seventh hat-trick of the year and his 36th League goal, equalling Shearer's 22 year old record.

Another massive up and under saw Voles bundle Hugo into the net before he touched the ball and headed it across the line. It followed a disallowed goal for Kane, who went through and nudged it past Pope, but was offside. Both decisions were correct. Barnes then wanted a penalty when Aurier won the ball strongly in the air and the striker went down claiming a spot-kick.  Barnes tried to curl a shot at goal, but it was weak and straight at Lloris and from it Tottenham worked the ball forward and Eriksen’s pass almost found Erik Lamela running into the box. Towards the end, a promising move ended with Sissoko putting a heavy pass off the pitch instead of finding Kane in the area.  The long ball game didn’t really work for Burnley, as they won little in the air and the Spurs defence didn’t get posed too many difficult questions to answer.

Dyche had boomed desperate claims for decisions on the touchline, but the control Tottenham had on the game apart form about 15 minutes during the game, was impressive. This approach is key to Tottenham picking up the points they need to stay around the top four. The home players and fans might think they were cheated when Dele wasn’t sent off and then they had a load of penalty appeals knocked back, but the truth is they were taken to pieces by the Spurs team, who showed glimpses of the last campaign.

One game left this year, so it's back to Wembley for the early kick off on Boxing Day against Southampton.  Time for one more mince pie ?  Or one more Harry Kane goal ?  By then, I think I know what I will prefer.

Aidenby Quernhow