Tottenham Hotspur needed a last-minute goal from Cristian Romero to grab a point in their away game to relegation-threatened Burnley this afternoon.
Thomas Frank’s side took an early lead at Turf Moor. After the home team failed to convert a set piece, centre-back Micky van de Ven scored the goal with a volley that beat Martin Dubravka.
However, goals from Axel Tuanzebe and Lyle Foster gave Frank’s men a scare, and a late goal from Romero secured a much-needed point for the Lilywhites in the Premier League.
Many supporters will no doubt be looking forward to more from this afternoon’s clash in Lancashire. The final scoreline put even more pressure on the Danes.
The 52-year-old also used a back-three system in this afternoon’s match, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a number of players from failing during the draw.
Spurs did poorly against Burnley
As a result of the change in formation, full-back Jed Spence was asked to take on a somewhat unusual attacking role from the left, which no doubt contributed to his struggles.
The 25-year-old played the full game at Turf Moor but only created one chance for his team-mates and completed just 43% of his crosses.
He also only made one tackle when he tracked back to fulfill his defensive duties, depriving him of his greatest weapon in such a position: attacking runs.
Spence wasn’t the only one to struggle during the draw, with striker Dominic Solanke often missing limited chances within the final third of the pitch.
The Englishman only had 39 touches in total during his 90-minute performance, with the rest controlled by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
He also missed both of his two attempted dribbles and won only one of his four aerial duels, highlighting his lack of impact against Scott Parker’s side.
Spurs star players need to be sold after Burnley draw
This afternoon’s draw with Burnley lifted Spurs to 13th in the Premier League, but they are still well below where they expected to be after Frank was appointed in the summer.
The Lilywhites are currently without a win in their last five league games and are undoubtedly struggling to qualify for Europe for the second consecutive season.
Despite these results, there is no doubt that there is still a lot of pressure on the 52-year-old and his future remains largely up in the air in north London.
However, after such a performance, there are bound to be questions about the players as the aforementioned talented players have not been able to perform at their highest level.
Pedro Polo was also one of the starters who struggled to adapt to the demands of Frank’s new three-back system, with the Spaniard being chosen for the right wing-back role.
His struggles were evident throughout much of the first half, which led the manager to replace him with Destiny Udogie at halftime when the scores were tied.
However, the basic statistics from his 45-minute performance highlight his struggles and the 26-year-old may need to be sold if he continues to play in this manner.
His more attacking role gave him license to come forward and cause problems for opponents, but Polo struggled in that regard, as his record of zero chances showed.
His attempted dribble also failed, and his cross into the opposition’s 18-yard box failed to find his teammate.
Pedro Porro – Statistics against Burnley | |
|---|---|
statistics | tally |
Play time (minutes) | 45 |
touch | 55 |
loss of ownership | 14 times |
Dibble completed | 0 |
completed cross | 0 |
won a duel | 1 |
Number of fouls committed | 2 |
Pass accuracy | 70% |
Statistics by FotMob | |
The Spaniard’s wastage of the ball at his feet is reflected in his record of losing the ball 14 times, which means he lost the ball every 3.9 touches, given his 55 touches.
He was equally poor when not in possession, as evidenced by his record of zero tackle wins, but he only won one out of five ground duels he participated in.
As a result of that performance, Polo were given a match rating of just 5/10 by Football London journalist Alasdair Gold, further exposing how poor Polo had been at Turf Moor.
He has struggled to reach the heights he has set for himself in recent years, and Spence’s emergence as a right-back has made the competition for the position even tougher.
His performances have failed to impress the Spurs faithful and no one would be surprised if the Spaniard is moved on in the near future.
If the club wants to rise to the Premier League in the near future, the cruel decision to let Polo leave is one of the necessary and necessary actions to take.
Spurs move to upgrade club-record ‘deadly’ Xavi Simmons
Tottenham are ready to revamp their front line with Thomas Frank in 2026.
