Burnley 0 Tottenham 3: Kane hat-trick sends Spurs above Arsenal
A hat-trick from Harry Kane ensured Tottenham moved above Arsenal into fifth place in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.
Kane’s treble was enough to give Spurs their first back-to-back wins at Turf Moor for 92 years and lift them above Sean Dyche’s side and the Gunners in the standings.
The clash represented a difficult prospect for Mauricio Pochettino’s men after their chastening 4-1 loss to Manchester City last week, but they were the stronger team for the majority of the game and should really have added more goals in between Kane’s first two.
They took control when the England international scored from the spot in only the seventh minute after Dele Alli had been fouled and, although Burnley enjoyed a good 20-minute spell in the middle of the match, they rarely had Hugo Lloris troubled in the visiting goal.
Kane at last produced a composed finish after Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min had wasted one-on-one opportunities to make the points safe, firing low into the net on the counter-attack.
The 24-year-old completed his treble with an emphatic left-footed finish with 11 minutes left to make the points secure and move onto 36 Premier League goals for 2017, level with the calendar-year record set by Alan Shearer in 1995.
Spurs are now only a point behind fourth-place Liverpool and two above Burnley, who sit seventh after suffering only their fifth league defeat of the season.
7 – Harry Kane has now scored seven hat-tricks for Tottenham Hotspur in 2017 – five in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup and one in the Champions League. Hotshot. pic.twitter.com/a6DD3FnxgG
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 23, 2017
Alli was lucky to escape a red card in the defeat to Manchester City and he was perhaps fortunate only to be booked after just four minutes in Lancashire, when he lunged into a challenge on Charlie Taylor.
Burnley fans were further incensed when Alli was brought down by Kevin Long just two minutes later, allowing Kane to dispatch his penalty high into the net and put Spurs in front.
Kane shot inches wide after an Alli shot deflected into his path and Sissoko was denied by Nick Pope with 22 minutes played, but the visitors’ dominance began to wane towards the end of the half as Burnley began to threaten.
The hosts continued their good spell after the break but they were given two real let-offs by Spurs on the break, First, Son blazed over from barely eight yards out after Serge Aurier set him up completely unmarked, before Kane overhit a simple pass to Christian Eriksen when Burnley had only one covering defender.
But with 68 minutes played, Spurs at last doubled their lead. Sissoko intercepted the ball near the halfway line and sent a fine throughball to Kane, who kept his composure to slot beneath Pope from inside the penalty area.
Kane closed to within one goal of a new milestone in the Premier League when he completed his seventh hat-trick of the year in all competitions, collecting Alli’s pass before drilling low across Pope’s goal and into the bottom-right corner in stylish fashion.
Congratulations @HKane!
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) December 23, 2017
He will surpass Shearer’s 22-year record with a goal against Southampton at Wembley on Boxing Day, when Spurs will seek a fourth home win in a row in all competitions.
Key Opta Facts:
– Kane’s third goal against Burnley was his 46th club strike in all competitions in 2017; only Edinson Cavani and Lionel Messi (50 each) have more among players in the big five European leagues.
– Burnley conceded as many goals in this game as they had in their previous nine at Turf Moor combined this season.
– Spurs are the first visiting team to score three or more in a Premier League game at Turf Moor since Crystal Palace in January 2015 (3-2).
– Kane has now scored 93 goals in the Premier League – second only to Teddy Sheringham (97) for goals in the competition for Spurs.
