Mauricio Pochettino has hailed the effort his Tottenham Hotspur players put in to dig out three points against a defensively resolute Burnley side at Wembley in a 1-0 win.
Tottenham expectedly dominated the game from the first whistle, but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Burnley defended gamely and the away side were prepared to put their bodies on the line to keep Harry Kane and Co. at bay in the first half.
The first real chance did come close to twenty minutes into the game when Erik Lamela dinked a ball into the box, which found Lucas Moura. But the Brazilian’s poked effort was just wide of the post.
Burnley continued to defend their penalty box and despite a few close calls, they continued to frustrate the Tottenham forwards.
The away side missed a golden opportunity to take a shock lead just before the break. Hugo Lloris’ lapse in concentration led to a pass straight at the feet of Phil Bardsley. He delivered the ball on to the head of Ashley Barnes, but he failed to get on top of it and headed it over the bar.
After the break, Burnley came close to breaking the deadlock again. Former Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon’s free-kick picked out Barnes inside the Spurs box. But his acrobatic strike came off Harry Kane and the home side survived.
Pochettino’s side earned a flurry of corners heading into the hour mark, but couldn’t muster up a worthwhile chance. Tottenham's players continued to try and get shots away from outside the box and Burnley defenders kept putting their bodies on the line to block them.
Two Burnley players were booked for time-wasting as Sean Dyche’s side looked to dig out a point from Wembley. Tottenham players were looking increasingly frustrated as the away side sought to break their rhythm and tempo.
Lamela came close to giving the lead to Tottenham but his shot from six yards out was brilliantly saved by Joe Hart in the 74th minute. The resultant loose ball was kicked out long by the aptly named Kevin Long as Kane was about to poke it in.
In the final ten minutes, Heung Min-Son missed a golden opportunity to win three points for Spurs. Kieran Trippier found Fernando Llorente inside the penalty box. The Spaniard laid off the ball with his chest to the South Korean’s path, whose shot was wide of the post.
After Dele Alli missed from a yard out at the far post, a long ball from Tottenham found its way into Kane and he laid it out to Christian Eriksen. The Dane didn’t commit any mistake with his finish and win the three points with a goal in stoppage time.
Pochettino admits that after their midweek sojourn in Barcelona facing Burnley was always going to be tricky. But he is happy with the way his players kept at it to eventually win the three points.
He feels that the win showed great the character and the work ethic his Spurs players possess.
Pochettino told the BBC’s Match of the Day: "It is a very good week for us, a fantastic win for us today, it is so important to be focused and try to keep our energy.
"After the Barcelona game and qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League, it is difficult to find the way to perform like this.
"Today I congratulate my players’ effort and the 50,000 fans. It was a late victory but so important for us.
"The character to always push to the end shows great belief and faith in the way we play. That pleases me the most.
"You can win or lose but to try and play the way we are playing it is always possible to achieve what you want."
Tottenham will be in action on Wednesday night again when they travel to north London rivals Arsenal for the EFL Cup quarter-final.
