Spurs roar back to crush Burnley thanks to Son’s hat-trick and Maddison magic

The arms were outstretched and the adulation flowing from an away end packed with Tottenham supporters celebrating James Maddison’s role in dismantling Burnley, although he was about to be upstaged by Son Heung-min’s hat-trick.

For a number of years, Tottenham have been reliant on the man with No 10 on his back to pull them through but Maddison is a different beast to his predecessor. He has the sort of swagger and skill to entertain his own fans, while infuriating opponents with a theatrical demeanour. All of this was on show at Turf Moor as Tottenham continued their unbeaten league start under Ange Postecoglou.

It was the third goal that proved his influence on proceedings and summed up Burnley’s failings. The hosts gave the ball away in their own defensive area, before Maddison collected it in space 20 yards from goal and fired into the corner of the net. This marked the end of the contest. Son completed a triple to remove any optimism the home fans may have maintained, and to prove he can be the clinical finisher Tottenham require.

Things looked as if they could have been different in the early stages when Burnley were showing the sort of football Vincent Kompany has been searching for since he arrived. It helped create an open, free-flowing game but ultimately to the host’s detriment.

Luca Koleosho was making the ninth first-team appearance of his career. The 18-year-old was a surprise summer signing from Espanyol but Kompany immediately thrust him into the action, starting him on the opening day against Manchester City. Koleosho showed why his manager is such an admirer by creating the opening goal. A sweeping break from back to front resulted in the winger getting behind the defensively naive Pedro Porro and showing neat footwork, before crossing for Lyle Foster to divert home in the fourth minute.

James Maddison (right) celebrates his goal by practising his darts throw with Son Heung-min. Photograph: Alex Morton/Tottenham Hotspur FC/Shutterstock

However Burnley’s flailing defence was caught out by a quarterback-style pinpoint long pass from Porro to Son, who – after an exchange with Manor Solomon – was afforded the space to dink a shot over James Trafford. The problem arose because Burnley had too many players forward and were caught out two-on-two at the back but they are happy to live and die by the sword. This defeat reminded them of the brutality of the Premier League as plenty of claret was spilled.

The visitors took control of the match around the half-hour mark, relying on Maddison’s creativity to make the difference. The midfielder almost gave Tottenham the lead but his curling shot was palmed away by Trafford. Maddison was impressive and at the heart of everything Spurs did going forward, a timely reminder for Gareth Southgate of what he can offer England during the international break.

Lapses in concentration repeatedly cost Burnley. In first-half injury time they failed to clear a corner, allowing Maddison time on the ball to get to the byline. His cross, via a few deflections, landed at Cristian Romero’s feet on the edge of the box. From there Romero picked out the top corner. VAR took a lengthy look at a potential offside but the corner of visiting supporters behind the far goal were allowed a belated second celebration.

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Half-time substitutions saw Kompany switch to a back five to try to stop Tottenham’s attacking flow but it did little change the course of the match as the visitors pushed Burnley further back. There were three chances in the first four minutes after the break as the redesigned defence was pulled apart, first by Maddison’s precise goal and then by Son’s composure inside the box, adding a fourth then fifth. Some home fans stayed to boo Maddison off late on and even fewer saw Josh Brownhill’s injury-time consolation.

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Postecoglou and Kompany are in the infancy of their Premier League managerial careers but the Australian seems to have the perfect blueprint, while his Belgian counterpart could be ripping up his plans and starting again.