7th December, 2019
Heung-Min Son lit up Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a stunning solo goal as they cruised to a 5-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
The South Korean international produced a moment of genius just after the half-hour mark, traveled virtually the entire length of the field and leaving Burnley players trailing in his wake to add a third goal to the tally after Harry Kane and Lucas Moura had given Tottenham a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes.
There was no let-up after the break, Kane added his second and Tottenham’s fourth early in the second half while Moussa Sissoko scored in successive home games to make it 5-0, having netted in last week’s win over Bournemouth.
It was Tottenham’s biggest league win since a similar scoreline against the Cherries on Boxing Day last year. And while the three points and clean sheet were well-received, the game also saw home debuts for substitutes Ryan Sessegnon and Troy Parrott, who was also making his Premier League bow.
After the disappointing performance against Manchester United in midweek, Tottenham wanted a fast start and got exactly that with two early goals.
Toby Alderweireld had almost set Son away with a pass from deep when the ball came quickly back to him and with his second attempt, he did find the South Korean, who in turn laid it off to Kane. He advanced forward, took aim and smashed a 25-yard right-foot rocket which was past Pope in a flash.
Just four minutes later and it was 2-0. This time it was Jan Vertonghen with the pass to Son, who burst into the area from the left and fired a shot from a tight angle which Pope saved with his feet. The rebound bounced up off Ben Mee, Pope then tried to punch clear but could only divert the ball to Lucas who poked home from inside the six-yard box.
Tottenham were so dominant in those early stages and almost added a third on 16 minutes, Son yet again streaking away down the left and this time playing in Sissoko, who beat Pope with his dinked effort but not the post. Moments later, Dele was clear on goal but could only roll the ball wide of the far post.
Burnley hadn’t threatened at all but did spark into life in the 21st minute when Dwight McNeil clipped over a deep cross which Robbie Brady headed back towards goal. His effort hit the crossbar and bounced out to Chris Wood, but Davinson Sanchez was in the right place to prevent his header from going in. Jay Rodriguez then directed a glancing header straight at Paulo Gazzaniga before we extended our lead with a magnificent goal from Son.
A free-kick for the visitors was met by Vertonghen and the ball fell to Son just outside our penalty area. He didn’t have too many options ahead of him, so started on a run which took him away from Brady and James Tarkowski, he beat McNeil on half-way, skipped past Erik Pieters mid-way inside Burnley’s half and then left Matthew Lowton and Mee trailing in his wake as he raced into the area and lifted the ball over Pope. A quite stunning goal.
At the other end, Burnley were trying to get a foothold in the game and probably should have scored when McNeil’s cross was met by Rodriguez but he headed wide and we ended the half on top again, just failing to find a way through with another couple of good breaks.
Tottenham held 3-0 leads in recent games against West Ham and Bournemouth, only to concede twice in the second half, and certainly didn’t let their concentration and tempo drop this time.
Key moment
There could only be one! When Son picked up the ball 80 yards from the Burnley goal, the visitors must have thought there was little danger of conceding, but about 10 seconds later the ball was in the back of their net and no other player on the pitch had touched the ball!
Son decided to go it alone, the noise in the stadium increasing with every step he took and every challenge he avoided along the way. It would have been easy to fluff his line once he broke into the area at the other end of the pitch, but instead, he provided the perfect finish to cap a goal which will be re-run many, many times over the coming months and years!