Tottenham manager fumes over Wood goal
All Whites striker Chris Wood continued his impressive form in the Premier League as Burnley delivered a huge blow to Tottenham’s slim title hopes.
Wood opened the scoring in the 57th minute with a glancing header from a disputed corner before Ashley Barnes’ 83rdminute winner secured a 2-1 victory for Burnley at Turf Moor.
The goal was Wood’s fourth in as many games and sixth during the Clarets’ eighth-match unbeaten streak in the league which has left them six points outside the relegation zone.
The 27-year-old Kiwi now has 10 goals across all competitions, the second-straight season he has reached double figures, and he’s relishing his combination up front with Barnes.
Wood’s latest goal was not without controversy, though.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino argued the ball that led to Dwight McNeil’s corner had gone off a Burnley player and should have been a goal kick.
A furious Pochettino immediately confronted the fourth official following Wood’s header and then squared up to referee Mike Dean after the final whistle during a heated argument with the veteran whistle blower.
There was plenty at stake for Tottenham, who would have pulled to within two points of Manchester City with a win but instead remain five points behind Pep Guardiola’s side and Liverpool. The Reds can take the outright lead today when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
After the match, Pochettino admitted he shouldn’t have confronted Dean.
‘‘Now that we are all relaxed it’s difficult to explain. What happened on the pitch is on the pitch. We cannot blame anyone. I am the first, I need to blame myself,’’ the Argentine said.
‘‘I said this game was key and that, if we didn’t win, we cannot think we are a real contender. It is a massive opportunity lost. We wanted to win, at the end there was a lot of emotion, we know how important the match was and we felt disappointment. We made mistake. I made a mistake. I should have gone to the dressing room and got some water.’’
Meanwhile, Wilfried Zaha scored twice to help Crystal Palace to a 4-1 win at Leicester as Roy Hodgson became the oldest manager to take charge of a Premier League game.
At 71 years and 198 days, Hodgson surpassed Bobby Robson as the oldest manager in Premier League history, a mark that had stood since August 2004. Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson was 71 years and 139 days when he took charge of his last game before retiring in 2013.
The win eased Palace’s relegation fears as they joined Burnley on 30 points, while Newcastle also secured a crucial 2-0 victory over last-placed Huddersfield to move to 28 points.
In the day’s only other match, Bournemouth were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolverhampton.