Makeshift Tottenham Defence Their Only Bright Spot in Boring Draw with Burnley

Of all the statistical takeaways anticipated to emerge from Burnley vs. Tottenham Hotspur, the latter recording their first clean sheet in 11 matches was not necessarily high on the list.

Even against a relegation-troubled opponent, the 11 goals Tottenham had conceded in their previous five shaky outings did not inspire confidence. The pre-match news that regular centre-back Jan Vertonghen's illness had forced a change did not bode well either.

As it was, the defence's performance was just about the only bright spot in their side's boring 0-0 draw with Burnley on Sunday.

A wasted opportunity to move into fifth place was facilitated by head coach Mauricio Pochettino's negative setup.

Bearing more of a resemblance to 4-3-2-1 than the 4-2-3-1 formation the Argentine usually prefers, the selection of Paulinho (in for Andros Townsend) alongside Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason had numerous ramifications.

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It meant Christian Eriksen was forced into right midfield, restricting the playmaker's ability to influence. Striker and stand-in skipper Harry Kane was subsequently left with nobody to connect with in attacking midfield for large periods of the game.

That was made all the more frustrating by the way Spurs fleetingly exposed Burnley in these areas at points throughout the match.

The three-man midfield occasionally broke free from their shackles, but they were mostly stifled. Their support for the defence in central positions was minimal, while they were not especially effective at shuttling out wide to stem the flow of Clarets' crosses.

Pochettino spoke in his pre-match press conference about finding "a better balance in the defensive positions."

His approach at Turf Moor was unnecessarily cautious, though, underestimating his team's ability to get the better of a hard-working but wobbly Burnley back four they had already beaten twice this season.

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Pochettino also invited trouble by overestimating the potency of his counterpart Sean Dyche's attack. Given the space Ashley Barnes, George Boyd and others in the midfield positions were allowed, Spurs' defence did a good job of keeping them out. However, it did not make for the prettiest or most nerveless of viewing.

Vertonghen's replacement, Vlad Chiriches, made his mark in the opening minutes when he got across to stop Boyd following Bentaleb's casual giveaway.

The Romania international was culpable in losing possession himself a couple of times thereafter, though nowhere near as egregiously as on Bentaleb's aforementioned loose pass or when Ryan Mason presented Danny Ings with a chance he should have scored from.

But he soon settled down and proceeded to put in one of his most focused 90 minutes of the season.

After Ings snuck between him and Danny Rose coming in off the right, Chiriches was prepared when Barnes tried a similar trick just prior to the interval.

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Moved to right-back following Kyle Walker's injury, he twice got across to cover for his team-mates in the following 15 minutes. Barring one occasion when he allowed Barnes too much space to cross—a dangerous centre that was fortunately not attacked by Burnley's forwards—Chiriches remained alert for the remainder of the match.

Spurs' defence did have trouble with Burnley's directness early on—again, unaided by the distant midfield. But on set plays and other crosses delivered into the box, Eric Dier led the way in beating the home side's aerial threats to the punch.

Rose kept up his good recent form at left-back. He won 100 per cent of his attempted tackles—per Squawka—and was largely in control of his flank.

The same could not be said of the sloppy Walker, though the England international did well to recover after a couple of his mistakes.

Walker's replacement, Ben Davies, did mostly solid work at centre-back. A failed clearance presented a chance from which Boyd headed wide, but he did stop Scott Arfield, Ings and Lukas Jutkiewicz at other points.

Michel Vorm should definitely be pleased with his part in Spurs' first clean sheet since they beat West Bromwich Albion in late January. In his first Premier League start this season, the former Swansea City No. 1 made several tidy saves to keep his team's chances of winning alive.

That they did not capitalise on this against now-18th-placed Burnley will undoubtedly frustrate a group whose hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification now look even less likely. "It's another point gained, but we were looking for all three today," Kane told reporters.

It is just like Tottenham that, on the week when their defence finally got things right, they got it all wrong going forward.

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