On the final match day of Premier League football before Christmas Tottenham hosted newly promoted Burnley in a 2-1 home win at White Hart Lane.
In the build up to this game Tottenham sit in fifth in the league, 13 points behind leaders Chelsea, level on points with fifth Manchester United and three points behind fourth-place Manchester City who played at the same time versus Arsenal.
Spurs come into this game after starting to regain some form in the league and scoring eight goals and conceding zero in the previous two home games. While Burnley may be a force who have won against Liverpool and defended like warriors versus Manchester United at home, away from Turf Moor they are the leagues lowest scorers with just one in the league. The form guide and stats all pointed to an easy home win for Tottenham.
In the first 90 seconds of the game, Dele Alli should have opened the scoring after being played in by Danny Rose, but his effort was blazed high over the bar.
Burnley then took the surprise lead in the 21st minute through Ashley Barnes after a shaky piece of play at the back, scoring only their second goal on their travels. However, their celebrations were short-lived with Alli righting his wrong five minutes later.
For the remainder of the first half and the majority of the second, Burnley defended like their lives depended on it and were attacking on the break. It took substitute Moussa Sissoko to provide Rose with what would be the winning goal, with a quick break 19 minutes from the end.
After Manchester City jumped Arsenal in their 2-1 win, the result leaves Tottenham in fifth place but currently only three points off second, with third place Liverpool playing on Monday.
Spurs do not feature again until the 28th December when they travel away to Southampton, where the fans, staff and players will be pushing for another three points.
