A fine Gareth Bale performance helped Tottenham Hotspur to a 4-0 home victory over Burnley to revive hopes of a top-four finish.
Two Goal Gareth Bale Performance Lifts Mood at Tottenham Hotspur
Attack is Best Form of Defence
Tottenham’s recent poor run of form in the Premier League has owed much to individual errors and poor defensive performances. For the visit of Burnley, it was an attacking team to frighten many a defence. Harry Kane, Bale, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura all started with Dele Alli on the bench.
Burnley are a tough nut to crack but against Spurs, the back four didn’t know which world-class player to mark and all of the starting front four were left in acres in space as Spurs were clinical.
Bale is Back
Gareth Bale showed signs in a second-half cameo against West Ham United and at home to Wolfsberger AC in the Europa League that his fitness and confidence were starting to come back. Against Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, Bale was back in every sense – in the starting line up and lighting up a football field like everyone knows he can.
Two goals to his name, but it was his overall play that caught the eye. His raking pass to Harry Kane to put Spurs 2-0 up following his own first goal after just 65 seconds was sublime and unerringly accurate.
Yet it was not that first goal or his superb second that made it 4-0 that demonstrated the second coming of Bale. There was a moment on the Spurs right when Bale turned his man, pushed the ball beyond the next, ran off the field and back in to continue flying forward. It led to nothing but it was reminiscent of the Bale that destroyed Inter Milan’s Maicon back in 2013 in the Champions League. Fast, strong and devastating.
Tottenham’s Top Four Hopes are Slim but Alive
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Tottenham started the day nine points off the top four but this win cuts the deficit to six points with a game in hand. A trip to Fulham is next for Jose Mourinho before a home tie against Crystal Palace precedes the second North London derby of the season.
A top-four finish is still going to be a tall order for Spurs but with Bale hungry once more, Alli playing well and Son and Kane around, it would be a fool’s errand to write Mourinho and Spurs off just yet.
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