Spurs spurn opportunity
The game against Burnley saw the return to action for Spurs striker Harry Kane. The England marksman graced his return with a goal which would have delighted Spurs fans for about 15 minutes or so (am sure). However, what frustrates me with this particular set of Spurs players is their inability to take initiative and seize opportunities when they arise.
Lady luck had made it possible for Spurs to close the gap on leaders City to just 2 points, meaning victory and 3 points away to Burnley. Unfortunately, what we had was another fine display by a bunch of bottlers. It’s becoming very obvious that time and again whenever Pochettino’s players face the slightest bit of pressure they crumble or at the very least fail to deliver.
I hate to bring up the past but we’ve seen the same group of players throw in the towel in the last 16 Champions League game against Juventus last year having had the advantage of killing the tie. We’ve seen the same group bottle the FA cup semi finals on two occasions as well as failing to capitalise when chasing Leicester for the premier league title. When will these players learn to fight ? It’s disappointing, because they’ve been on such a great run of late and credit to them but they must do better otherwise this crop of talent will be remembered as the nearly men (Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle come to mind).
Burnley definitely turned up to fight and it was going to take a massive effect from Spurs to overcome them. The home side took the lead after Wood put them ahead on the 57th minute before the returning Kane leveled in the 65th minute with a neat finish. Spurs did endeavour to search for the winner but it was Burnley who ran away with all 3 points when Barnes was left unmarked at the back post prompting the home supporters into immediate jubilation (and who could blame them) as their team won 2-1.
Tottenham meanwhile, have a lot of questions internally about their mentality and inability to step up to the plate. With that being said, the Spurs still go marching on and really have to hope that both Liverpool and Manchester City drop points between now and the rest of the season. The end is near and the games will come thick and fast let’s hope it’s a better result next time out.
The good news for Spurs is that Liverpool also dropped points away to Manchester United in a goalless draw at Old Trafford. United were forced to use all 3 substitutes before halftime which would have been frustrating for Manager Solskjaer. His counterpart, Liverpool Manager Klopp would have been disappointed that they were unable to secure all 3 points and will feel as though they have lost points.
Liverpool have now played their game in hand over City and sit at the top with a point separating them from City. Salah was very quite in the game against United and created little opportunity. Pogba was unable to break the deadlock and both sets of players will feel the draw was the right result.
In the other premier league matches over the weekend, Arsenal beat Southampton 2-0 thanks to goals from Lacazette and Mkhitaryan. Newcastle also won 2-0 against Huddersfield with goals from Rondon and Perez putting them a few points into safety for now. Crystal Palace were the highest scorers this weekend with an impressive 4-1 victory away to Leicester City whilst Bournemouth drew 1-1 against Wolves.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MANCHESTER CITY ON WINNING THE CARABAO CUP!!!!
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