Tottenham 1 Burnley 0: Pedro Porro’s ROCKET wins it but Amdouni misses sitter in stoppage time to force FA Cup replay
PEDRO PORRO showed Trent Alexander-Arnold he has some competition for the title of most electrifying right-back-turned-playmaker around.
This game was looking like the first dull encounter of the Ange Postecoglou era and heading towards an unwanted replay.
That was until Porro, Spurs’ shining light all game, stole the ball in the 78th minute and let fly from 25 yards.
The Spaniard could not have hit it any sweeter, as it flew into the top corner with all the laser-like precision of a vintage Cristiano Ronaldo howitzer.
Porro has been a revelation this season under Postecoglou, quietly undergoing one of the most impressive full-back transformations since Patrice Evra all those years ago at Manchester United.
Evra famously struggled during his first six months in English football but then went on to become a United legend.
It is fair to say Porro had a nightmare in the second half of last season, after arriving from Sporting Lisbon, amid the end of the Antonio Conte era and the chaos that followed it.
Fans were left wondering just what Postecoglou was going to do with the Spain international, who did not start the first game of the season at Brentford.
The answer has been to turn him into one of the most creative players in the league who, like Alexander-Arnold, makes a mockery of his alleged right-back position by popping up all over the shop and making things happen.
Spurs badly needed him here as they looked out of ideas without all their injured players and particularly inspirational captain Son Heung-min, who has jetted off to the Asian Cup with South Korea.
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In fairness to Postecoglou, he went as full strength as he could – not that he had an excuse not to, given how few games there are this month.
Spurs were boosted by the return to the bench of star defender Micky van de Ven after two months out with a hamstring problem. Within a minute, fans were singing the Dutchman’s name.
Unlike their hosts, Burnley did make changes – five in total – and it was fresh face Anass Zaroury who was the centre of attention in the early stages.
First, the Moroccan risked giving away a penalty with a clumsy tackle on Destiny Udogie that VAR looked at but agreed with on-field ref Sam Barrott’s decision not to give a spot-kick.
Then Zaroury stung the fingertips of Guglielmo Vicario with a fizzing drive from distance.
In the 16th minute, nigh-on all of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, including Postecoglou, were applauding in honour of 16-year-old Spurs fan Harry Pitman, who was tragically stabbed to death on New Year’s Eve.
Without Son, the goal-scoring burden fell even more on Richarlison, who has finally found his shooting boots for Spurs over the festive period with five goals in as many games.
But he still has a long way to convince the fanbase he is good enough to be a regular for them.
And the way he squandered two first-half chances, weakly firing at the keeper, will have done little to persuade them.
Burnley should have taken the lead when Zaroury impudently flicked the ball over the Spurs backline to play in team-mate Zeki Amdouni, who somehow got it stuck under his feet and then blazed over from a few yards out.
Spurs tried to up the tempo after the break – during which Burnley’s star striker Lyle Foster was subbed off – but they lacked creativity.
The absentee list, which also included James Maddison and Manor Solomon, was telling.
Postecoglou took action by bringing on Bryan Gil for Gio Lo Celso and moving Dejan Kulusevski into the middle.
It did not appear to have the desired effect and as Richarlison failed to make the most of another opening in the Burnley box, a replay looked inevitable.
Yet from the resulting move, as Muric threw the ball out to sub Ameen Al-Dakhil, Porro burst into action to change the narrative.
He tackled Al-Dakhil, drove towards the box, took aim and let fly.
It whistled into the top corner for a magnificent first goal of the season and one worthy of winning any game.
Spurs almost made it 2-0 when sub Ryan Sessegnon making a surprise return after a lengthy spell out with a hamstring problem saw Muric tip his shot wide.
Muric then went up for a Burnley corner deep into seven minutes of stoppage time, but Spurs held out to ensure it was Porro’s day.
The 24-year-old told SunSport in an exclusive interview that there is a saying in Spain that “the sun will come up tomorrow” – ie that better times will be ahead, no matter how gloomy things look.
After last season’s misery, a new day has certainly dawned for Porro in N17.
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