Tottenham’s defeat at Turf Moor has massively dented their title aspirations. Pochettino described the game as “a final” and a win would have taken Spurs to within two points off Liverpool before they took the field at Old Trafford on Sunday.
After Tottenham’s impressive display against Dortmund 10 days before the Burnley game, Pochettino decided to stick with 5 at the back, and kept faith in Juan Foyth, starting the youngster alongside Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld at the back.
The Burnley forwards appeared to target Foyth, and their first goal came as a result of Chris Wood beating the Argentine in the air. Pochettino decided to change the system to a back four in the second half of by replacing Foyth and Harry Winks with Fernando Llorente and Erik Lamela.
However, the change didn’t help Tottenham get more control of the game as they continued to struggle defensively, eventually conceding a late goal through Ashley Barnes. Premier League great Alan Shearer identified the poor performances of the Tottenham center backs as the cause for the defeat.
In his column for the Sun, Shearer wrote, “Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood gave Spurs’ centre-backs a nightmare. And Tottenham didn’t do enough to win the game — despite having Harry Kane back from injury.
“Mauricio Pochettino can complain all he likes to the referee at the end but he’s got to look at his own players for not defending the corner properly.”
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