Tottenham moved just one point off of sixth-place on Sunday with a 4-0 win over Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a brace from Gareth Bale and goals from Harry Kane and Lucas Moura.
This was Spurs’ second 4-0 win in the space of matter of days following their victory over Wolfsberger in their Europa League last-32 second-leg tie.
Bale put Tottenham in the second minute, after being played through by Son Heung-min, with a right-footed toe-poked finish.
The Wales international again played a part in the second goal, this time dispatched by Kane. The forward played a delightful pass over the Burnley midfield into Kane’s feet on the left flank. Their No 10 brought it down before firing a strike into Nick Pope’s near post, courtesy of a deflection.
Moura then added to Burnley’s struggles by scoring Tottenham’s third in the 31st minute. The Brazilian jumped on a loose ball inside the penalty area before putting it past Pope with his left foot.
Tottenham didn’t relax in the second half and added a fourth through Bale. Son registered his second assist of the game by playing the ball to Bale who brilliantly bent a shot into the far corner.
It was a standout performance from Bale who didn’t put a foot wrong, taking on the Burnley defence at will and producing perfect passes. This is the Bale that Spurs fans were expecting when they signed him on loan from Real Madrid in September. They will hope this continues until the end of the season.
The win sees Tottenham move up to eighth on 39 points – closing the gap to fourth-placed West Ham by six points.
For Burnley they remain 15th in the table, just five points above the relegation zone.
PLAYER RATINGS
Tottenham: Lloris 7, Aurier 7, Sanchez 8, Alderweireld 8, Reguilon 7, Hojbjerg 7, Ndombele 7, Moura 9, Bale 9, Son 9, Kane 8.
Burnley: Pope 4, Lowton 4, Tarkowski 4, Mee 4, Taylor 4, Brownhill 4, Westwood 5, Cork 4 McNeil 4, Rodriquez 6, Vydra 5.
By Daniel Perry