Thomas Frank made a winning start to his first Premier League season as Tottenham Hotspur head coach, with Richarlison scoring twice in an ultimately convincing 3-0 win over newcomers Burnley.
Burnley’s Martin Dubravka became the first Premier League goalkeeper to be penalised under the new rules for holding onto the ball for eight seconds. Spurs were awarded a corner as a result.
Tottenham took the lead in the 10th minute when Mohammed Kudus crossed from the right and the ball bounced once before Richarlison steered it into the bottom-left corner of Dubravka’s goal.
Frank’s side threatened little for the rest of the half, allowing Burnley to grow into the game, but a moment of magic from Richarlison put Spurs in control — Kudus wriggled free down the right and sent in a cross for the Brazilian, whose acrobatic volley left Dubravka with no chance. Brennan Johnson added a third six minutes later.
Here, The Athletic’s Jay Harris and Elias Burke break down the key talking points.
How did Spurs play in Frank’s first home Premier League game?
Spurs set up with a completely different system against Burnley than the “special” one they used in Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.
On Saturday, Frank used a 4-2-3-1 formation but surprisingly, Lucas Bergvall was the most advanced midfielder. He pressed Burnley’s defence along with centre-forward Richarlison and went on a couple of impressive driving runs with the ball. In pre-season, Pape Matar Sarr tended to be the most advanced midfielder.
Archie Gray started as the deeper ‘No 6’ midfielder and it was his job to do the dirty work so Sarr and Bergvall could stay high. Most of Gray’s game time last season came in defence, so it is encouraging to see him start the new campaign in his favourite position. It was a youthful midfield combination but they complemented each other perfectly. Frank’s brave decision to start them together paid off.
Lucas Bergvall impressed in a young midfield (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Spurs were a constant threat down the right through Pedro Porro and Kudus, who only played together a couple of times during the summer, but they dovetailed nicely. Kudus loves to shoot with his left foot, yet both of his assists came with his right. That unpredictability makes him difficult to defend. When opposition teams double up on him, it creates more space for Porro to whip dangerous crosses into the box.
Spurs looked slightly more awkward on the left. Djed Spence and Johnson are predominantly right-footed, so no one was stretching the pitch down that side. This dynamic should improve the more they play together.
The concern before this game was that without a natural No 10, Spurs would struggle to break down Burnley but it turned into a dream start for Frank in his first league game in charge of Spurs.
Jay Harris
Does Richarlison look back to his best?
If there were any concerns that Richarlison was not the man to provide competition for Dominic Solanke up front this season, the Brazilian answered them emphatically with one of his best performances in a Spurs shirt.
Following Wednesday’s outing against PSG, where Richarlison led the line excellently as an outlet and target man, he demonstrated his goalscoring prowess against Burnley. He opened the scoring with a wonderfully controlled finish into the goalkeeper’s bottom right-hand corner from Kudus’ cross, then linked up with the Ghanaian again in the second half to score a spectacular scissor kick — a trademark finish, one that drew comparisons to his goal for Brazil against Serbia at the 2022 World Cup.
Richarlison played a role in the third goal too, controlling a bouncing ball in the middle of the park under pressure from the Burnley defenders before Sarr took it and slid in Johnson, who put Spurs out of sight.
The Brazilian has had a stop-start career in north London due to injuries, but this is a genuine springboard for him to contest the centre-forward role in Frank’s side during a World Cup season. With designs on wearing the No 9 shirt again for Brazil next summer — as he did in Qatar three years ago — this might be the breakout performance he needed.
Jay Harris
How did Gray do starting ahead of Palhinha?
Joao Palhinha was one of Frank’s standout performers in the Super Cup on Wednesday, making it all the more surprising that Gray started in midfield for Saturday’s league opener.
Gray was solid and reliable in possession, completing 39 of his 42 attempted passes, providing a sturdy outlet for full-backs to release the ball to when under pressure. He demonstrated his defensive acumen on several occasions, too, most notably winning the ball in midfield and starting a counter-attack that ended with a Richarlison effort from close range.
For a player still learning the position — and often struggled to acclimatise to it on the few occasions he was trialled in that role under Ange Postecoglou — it was a steady and impressive first Premier League outing under his new boss.
Having a natural ball-winner like Palhinha to learn from should prove invaluable to Gray’s progression. Palhinha demonstrated his ability to win the ball against elite opposition in the Super Cup — a skill we’re yet to see from Gray — and having a model to emulate out of possession could be what he needs to take another step. Gray has shown glimmers of his extra quality with the ball, indicating his potential to star in that position with defensive improvement.
And with Frank willing to hand him a start in his first Premier League game, Gray seems to be in the perfect environment to continue making strides.
Elias Burke
Dubravka’s eight seconds of history
In the third minute of the game, Burnley goalkeeper Dubravka claimed Bergvall’s cross after a Spurs throw-in routine.
The 36-year-old was then caught out by one of the new rules that has been introduced by the Premier League for this season. Dubravka held onto the ball, frantically searching for a free team-mate to pass to but they were all marked. After waiting for eight seconds, referee Michael Oliver then blew his whistle.
Everybody in the ground was slightly confused as Spurs went over to take a corner but this is the punishment for teams if their goalkeeper takes too long to play the ball.
Dubravka is the first Premier League player penalised for the eight-second rule (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
For the rest of the game, Spurs’ fans took great delight in mocking Dubravka every time he had the ball in his hands. Oliver would raise his hand in the air and count down from eight to signal to Dubravka how much time he had left.
It feels like every season, the Premier League introduces a strange new rule that no one asked for and is then quickly forgotten about after a few weeks. Let’s see how long this one lasts.
Jay Harris
What did Frank say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Spurs?
Saturday, August 23: Manchester City (Away), Premier League, 12.30pm UK, 7.30am ET
Source link
