This was a match that showed what Ange Postecoglou had already achieved and how much more he still had left to do
Tottenham need one more point to secure fifth place this season and a return to European football next season and a top-four position are currently out of reach
It’s not the doom and gloom that many expected when Harry Kane walked out of this door last August, but it’s still a long way from what we’re expecting from the Postecoglou-led sides
Against Burnley, Spurs, especially at the beginning and end of the encounter, the Australians realized how breathtaking football can be
Had James Maddison’s shot not deflected over the crossbar at the top, Tottenham’s wide early movement from penalty area to penalty area with quick, instinctive and intricate passing across the pitch would have undoubtedly contributed to Tottenham’s It would have been the best goal of the season
On the day, the hosts had 21 shots on goal through Alijanet Muric, and the Swiss-born Kosovo international made seven saves
The Burnley defender in front of him had to make 20 saves and six blocked shots
But this is Tottenham, so of course the guests scored the first goal
After 25 minutes, a sliding tackle from Papu Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson sent the ball through midfield only for it to be sent to Sander Berge
Pedro Polo then became confused when approaching him and simply let him pass instead
This gave the Norwegian time to chase down the run of Jacob Brun Larsen, with makeshift left-back Oliver Skip catching up to the pitch
The 23-year-old tried bravely to fight back and almost blocked the Dane’s shot with the claw of his hind foot, but the shot went past Guglielmo Vicario
Apart from Vitinho’s early header, that was all the Spurs goalkeeper had to do during the match, and the hosts scored after just seven minutes
Polo won the ball in midfield, exchanged passes with Johnson, and sunk a sharp shot past Muric
It was a goal at a crucial time, stopping the desperate search for a foothold that has become common in recent matches
Spurs controlled possession for 63% and were able to create chances
In fact, the second goal should have created good chances for the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Maddison, Cristian Romero and Johnson long before Micky van de Ven finally got the ball home in the 86th minute
Coach changes are not always appreciated, but all three of Postecoglou’s first changes worked, and two of them were involved in the win
Newcomer Rodrigo Bentancur quickly fed the ball through the middle to Maddison, who turned around to find Van de Ven’s run and was carried inside by a touch from a defender
Dane Scarlett ran the ball past the Burnley defender and the Dutchman ran onto the ball, transferring it to his left foot and rolling it to the left post
Even in his Venn celebration, Postecoglou was so quick that no one could catch him, proving once again to the team that his style of play can result in goals
Now a left-back, the Dutchman played more centrally than a winger and caused all sorts of havoc
It was another big goal in front of the huge South Stand, which has produced many dramatic moments late this season
“Honestly, we’ve had games like today all season, we’re down 1-0, and the atmosphere was crazy,” Johnson said
“every time
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