MELTDOWN!
Pochettino rages at ref after Spurs throw away chance to close on leaders and he says: ‘We cannot be contenders’
IF THIS was the day Tottenham’s title dream finally died, manager Mauricio Pochettino’s reaction told the whole story.
All season he has played down expectations. Here though we saw Pochettino uncut. This is what he really believed, that Tottenham could make history — and victory at Burnley, to go within two points of the leaders, was a crucial stepping stone.
How else to explain the commotion at the end? In six years in England, we have never seen Pochettino like this, almost head-to-head with a referee berating him. His hands were behind his back but the aggression was unmistakeable. Jesus Perez was a yard behind but angrily pointing his finger at Mike Dean and his assistants.
Goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez also offered observations. It was a three-pronged confrontation for which Pochettino later apologised.
He said he would consider seeking out Dean to apologise too but that it was unlikely to spare him from an FA charge and potential touchline ban. ‘Maybe I will go to see him,’ he said. ‘It is a good point. There were crossed cables inside my brain. It was weird and strange and it has not happened before in 10 years. Something stupid maybe happened and you react.
‘I was never out of control. We lose the game because of us, not because of excuses. We didn’t deserve to win. I will accept everything that can happen from the FA but I hope the things that happened on the pitch won’t go further.’
The context for all this was that Burnley’s opening goal came from a corner which should not have been awarded, having come off Jeff Hendrick. But it was mightily hard to spot and Pochettino denied that was what had sparked him.
Then there was the scything tackle by Phil Bardsley on Danny Rose; yet there was a similarly outof-control challenge from Juan Foyth on Chris Wood. Both might have been red.
In reality, it was probably the magnitude of the occasion that drove Pochettino to act like he did. ‘I said for me this game is going to be key to put pressure on our opponents,’ he said. ‘If we didn’t win, we cannot think of being a real contender. It is a massive opportunity lost for us.
‘When you feel so disappointed and upset, you make some mistakes. We made some mistakes on the pitch and I made some mistakes afterwards on the pitch. I need to go to the dressing room and drink some water but what happened, happened.’
It is a side of Pochettino we do not often see. He wants his players to be tougher mentally. And at times he can be hard on them when they are not. Even the return of Harry Kane – he scored, of course – was used to make the point. ‘Yes, Harry scored and I am so happy he is back,’ he said. ‘That is going to help but no one is more important than the team. The day that we understand that we are maybe going to cross the line and going to prove as a club and as a team we are a real contender. Until then it is going to be difficult.’
If it was the day their unlikely dream died, they picked a glorious one for it. A stunning Lancashire midday sun shone brightly on the rows of terraced houses and rolling hills that form the backdrop to the evocative Turf Moor. But this was no lame surrender, Spurs went down fighting and there was something magnificent about it.
Unbeaten now in eight in the Premier League, this was the consummate Burnley performance. Forget the possession stats, which were 70 per cent in Tottenham’s favour. Burnley used their 30 per cent so effectively that they were well worth their win.
‘It was as effective a performance as we have had all season,’ said manager Sean Dyche. ‘We kept asking questions all afternoon. The feel and quality of the performance was very pleasing. And it’s very tough. They’re a top side and they have a way of controlling the game and we didn’t allow them that. And we’re finding ways to win again.’
Indeed, in defence they were robust. On the counter, in the second half, they bombarded Spurs with a succession of corners and free-kicks. Eventually it told.
The significant action all came in the second half. The corner that never should have been was swung in by Dwight McNeil. Tottenham and Burnley players were in a queue on the six-yard line awaiting it, so it still seemed improbable that Wood could get his head to it. Yet
with a deftness and the slightest of movements, he manoeuvred away from Toby Alderweireld and Foyth, connected cleanly directed the ball in off the far post.
Pochettino responded with a change in personnel. Tottenham kept three at the back – he would eventually switch to a back four – but on came Fernando Llorente, with Son Heung-min dropping deeper and Christian Eriksen going into holding midfield.
The riposte would come from a familiar face, however. Kane already tested Tom Heaton with a superb strike from 30 yards in the 51st minute which the Burnley captain tipped over brilliantly.
But there was something reassuringly familiar about Kane running in behind the Burnley back four from Rose’s throw-in, launched over the heads of Bardsley and Ben Mee.
Kane was in his stride, as, incidentally was Dyche, furious at the yards Rose had stolen for the throw which had gone unpunished.
Kane in this territory is lethal, making light of Heaton’s efforts to close an already tight angle. He shot inside him, making the angle even tighter, to score.
Dyche would be vindicated though. In Burnley’s continued assault on Tottenham’s goal, Johann Gudmundsson would produce a lovely flick that allowed him to drive into Tottenham’s penalty area in the 83rd minute. He fed Ashley Barnes in space and the striker simply steered the ball home from close range.
BurNLey (4-4-2): Heaton 7.5; Bardsley 7, Tarkowski 8, Mee 7, Taylor 7; Hendrick 7 (Brady 80min) Westwood 7.5, Cork 7, McNeil 7.5; (Gudmundsson 80); Barnes 8, Wood 8. Booked: Bardsley. subs (not used): Hart, Lowton, Vydra, Crouch, Gibson. totteNHam (3-5-2): Lloris 6; Foyth 6 (Lamela 76) Alderweireld 6.5, Vertonghen 6.5; Aurier 6 Sissoko 7, Winks 6.5 (Llorente 62, 6) Eriksen 7 Rose 5.5; Son 7 (Moura 88) Kane 8. Booked: Foyth, Lamela, Llorente. subs (not used): Wanyama, Walker-Peters, Gazzaniga, Davies referee: M Dean 5.5.