Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick as Tottenham came from behind to beat Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor and leave Vincent Kompany’s side pointless after three home games back in the Premier League.
Son cancelled out Lyle Foster’s early opener in the 16th minute and then, after goals from Cristian Romero and James Maddison had put Tottenham in control, he scored two in the space of four minutes just after the hour as Spurs made it 10 points from Ange Postecoglou’s first four league games in charge.
Spurs have boosted their attacking options with Friday’s signing of Brennan Johnson, not registered in time to make his debut here, but Son will carry much of the scoring burden after Harry Kane’s exit and his first goals since April will add to the sense of optimism amongst the travelling fans.
There was a stoppage-time consolation goal from Josh Brownhill but this was another chastening afternoon for Burnley.
There was no shyness in their play after opening defeats to Manchester City and Aston Villa and their positive early approach was rewarded by Foster’s goal just four minutes in, but their high-risk possession game was then ruthlessly punished by Spurs.
The opening 15 minutes offered much encouragement. Just four minutes in Burnley won the ball inside their own half and quickly shuffled it left, where the impressive Luca Koleosho beat Pedro Porro to a through-ball and played in Foster for his second goal in as many league appearances.
The mood inside Turf Moor was buoyant as Burnley bossed possession and kept Tottenham pegged back, but it all changed in the 16th minute with the help of a simple ball over the top from Porro.
Son sprang forward to beat Dara O’Shea to the ball, then exchanged passes with Manor Solomon before clipping the ball over the advancing James Trafford.
Tottenham were growing into the game, with Maddison pulling the strings and Burnley too often getting themselves in trouble with their attempts to play out from the back.
Pape Sarr saw a shot unconventionally blocked by Ameen Al-Dakhil, with the chance coming after Trafford’s clearance went straight to Dejan Kulusevski. Trafford then had to dive to his left to keep out a bending effort from Maddison before Porro sent an inviting chance wide.
The pressure told in first-half stoppage time as Burnley failed to clear a corner and the ball came for Romero to fire in from the edge of the area via the inside of the left-hand post, with the goal surviving a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Kompany made two changes at the break as Hannes Delcroix and Brownhill replaced Sander Berge and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, with Brownhill quickly bending a shot narrowly over, but more sloppy play at the back from the Clarets was soon punished.
The under-pressure Al-Dhakil gave the ball away on the right and it was all too easy for Spurs to find Maddison in space on the edge of the box, his curling finish leaving Trafford with no chance.
At the other end Foster raced on to a through-ball but Romero got a touch to his shot before Guglielmo Vicario touched it over.
Within minutes, Son put the game beyond Burnley. Solomon squared an inviting ball for him to fire in his second in the 63rd minute, and moments later he had the pace to get in behind the Burnley defence and collect Porro’s ball forward, beating Trafford to seal his hat-trick.
Brownhill slid in to get one back for Burnley in stoppage time but by then there was only half the Turf Moor crowd still on hand to see it.
Edu placed on gardening leave by Arsenal and replaced by Jason Ayto
Edu will spend the next six months on gardening leave, while assistant sporting director Jason Ayto will take up his role during the search for a full-time replacement.
The news comes after the announcement earlier in the week that Edu was to leave Arsenal to work with Evangelos Marinakis' multi-club group, which includes Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners are giving themselves a long window to replace their sporting director and are prepared to wait for the right candidate.
Despite his abrupt departure partway through the season, the feeling towards Edu is of gratitude after installing a robust structure that the club can now work with.
The Brazilian is known to be a friend of Marinakis, who values the esteem in which Edu is held by his peers.
The salary offered to him for his move, as reported by Sky Sports News, would mean only Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery earn more than him among Premier League managers.
The role itself, meanwhile, will see Edu act as the CEO of the group.
'Outstanding' Jones has improved since becoming a father, says Slot
Arne Slot believes Curtis Jones' upturn in form for Liverpool has coincided with the 23-year-old recently becoming a father for the first time.
Jones has played a starring role for the Reds in recent weeks, which has earned him a call-up by Lee Carsley for England’s upcoming Nations League fixtures this month.
The midfielder shone during Liverpool's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, notching a sublime assist for Luis Diaz's 61st minute opener.
Jones also created the joint-most chances (three) along with Ryan Gravenberch at Anfield, and is now pushing Dominik Szoboszlai for a starting spot in Liverpool's midfield.
"With Curtis he became a fighter and I had nothing to do with that. Since the moment he became a father [last month], he started putting great performances in," Slot said.
"He already did in the first few weeks of pre-season and I thought he was a quality player.
"His performances dropped a bit but from the moment he became a father he has been outstanding again.
"It might have a bit to do with that, but I think it is more to do with how the team plays. As a result of that, individual performances are good as well."
Jones has started four of the Reds' last six games in all competitions, notching four goal contributions (one goal, three assists) in those games.
But the midfielder has had to bide his time under Slot, with the Liverpool boss challenging Jones to add consistency to his game in the coming weeks.
"He has a lot of qualities on the ball, when he has it he's never afraid to do something special. Sometimes he is a bit too over-confident but confidence is important," Slot added.
"He also has an incredibly high work-rate and we can trust him defensively. You saw how he performed against Cole Palmer.
"If he wants to continue progressing he has to show every three days these performances."
Liverpool's fine start to the season continued with their midweek thrashing of Leverkusen, and they are now top of the Premier League and Champions League tables.
The Reds' victory over Brighton in the league saw Slot become just the fifth manager to win as many as eight of his first 10 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory (1998), Guus Hiddink (2009), Carlo Ancelotti (2009) and Ange Postecoglou (2023).
Of the previous four, only Postecoglou failed to win his 11th match in the competition, though Slot faces a stern test this weekend when Aston Villa visit Merseyside.
The Dutchman, however, insisted that his side's flying start to the season had not come as a surprise.
"I don't think surprise is the right word to use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing and consistency is another," Slot concluded.
"I am not surprised because I saw the energy my players put in on a daily basis.
"Sometimes a bit of luck comes with us as well. Most of our results were deserved, but some have been a close call.
"In general, I'm not surprised because of the quality that was in the team and when I started working with them, I saw how much effort they put in to get these results."
Van Nistelrooy aiming to restore Old Trafford fear factor in final Man Utd outing
Ruud van Nistelrooy has challenged Manchester United to be ruthless, with the interim boss saying Old Trafford has less of a fear factor after their recent results.
Van Nistelrooy led the Red Devils to a 2-0 win against PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday and remains unbeaten in his time as Erik ten Hag’s temporary successor before Ruben Amorim’s arrival next week.
All three of his games in charge have come at the Theatre of Dreams, which culminates with another home fixture against Leicester City in the Premier League, a side he has already beaten in the EFL Cup at the end of last month.
United have picked up just seven points from their five home league games this season, with only seven teams winning less, something Van Nistelrooy says must improve.
"That's something that is important to change," he told TNT Sports. "Home games at Old Trafford were basically hardly won [by the visitors].
"As I said, the reason why I'm here is to get United back to that point. It's hard work, it needs to be done, but, of course, it is a chance to get a home win after a long time."
"I don't know. I think less because of the results that more teams got at Old Trafford, that means something. How teams are coming and playing here, so again that's something you have to build again.”
Leicester, meanwhile, come into the encounter at Old Trafford after snatching a point late on against 10-man Ipswich Town, with Jordan Ayew netting in the second half stoppage time.
The Foxes are without a win in three games in all competitions since back-to-back victories against Bournemouth and Southampton in the Premier League in October.
While head coach Steve Cooper was happy his side were able to add another point to their league total, he said he left Portman Road with mixed feelings after reflecting on the encounter.
“A point away from home in the Premier League is never anything to be too despondent about. It will feel like a win scoring late, but I think we'll feel better about the result than what Ipswich will,” Cooper said.
“It's miles a better result than it is for Ipswich, but we think of ourselves, we think internally we shouldn't be satisfied with just the point. There should be some disappointment and frustration there, but we also know that we worked really hard in the end to get something out of the game.
“We started really strong, finished really strong, but bits in between were a little bit too up and down for my liking, so it’s mixed feelings, but we keep ticking over, and we move on now.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes has been involved in eight goals in seven starts against Leicester in all competitions (four goals, four assists), netting twice against the Foxes in last month’s EFL Cup meeting.
He has also created more chances (15) than any of his United team-mates in the Premier League this term, with his creative edge needed to unlock the Leicester defence.
Leicester City – Jordan Ayew
Only Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran (four) has scored more goals as a substitute in the Premier League this season than Ayew (two).
Both of the Ghanaian’s strikes have come in his last two away games, and both in second half stoppage time (winner against Southampton, equaliser against Ipswich).
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN
United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.
The Red Devils have also scored in each of their last 28 top-flight games against Leicester, since a 1-0 loss in January 1998. In their Premier League history, only against Arsenal have they ever had a longer scoring streak (30 between 1953 and 1968).
United have won 16 of their last 18 Premier League games against promoted sides (D2), since a 1-4 loss to Watford in November 2021, and will be hopeful of continuing to get their season back on track.
Their 12 points this season is the club’s lowest return after 10 top-flight games in a season since 1986-87 (eight), while their nine goals scored is their lowest at this stage since 1973-74 (also nine).
Leicester, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 14 Premier League away games against United (D3 L10), picking up a 2-1 victory in May 2021.
But the Foxes are one of two teams – along with Man City – to have scored in all 10 of their Premier League games so far this season. Only in 2018-19 (first 11) and their 2015-16 title winning campaign (17) have they had a longer streak from the start of a season in the competition.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester United – 65.1%
Draw – 18.8%
Leicester City – 16.1%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
