Spurs 5-0 Burnley: Four-midable Keane as Tottenham Stroll to Win Over Clarets

(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Robbie Keane scored four goals in five as Spurs returned to their winning ways against hapless Burnley at White Hart Lane. The Irish striker continued his impressive partnership with Jermaine Defoe as Spurs ripped the Clarets to pieces in front of their home crowd.

Keane's first came from a penalty after Defoe was brought down in the box with a clumsy challenge by Andre Bikey. Ten minutes later and it was all over, as Jermaine Jenas scored his first of the season with a deflected effort from outside the box.

With Burnley's flimsy resistance in shreds, Spurs then went on and put on a show for their home fans and added another three goals in the second half while also keeping their first clean sheet of the season into the bargain.

Going into the game, all the talk was of how Harry Redknapp was going to accommodate Peter Crouch after the lanky strikers superb hat-trick in the Carling Cup against Preston on Wednesday.

Keane was expected to find himself on the bench as Redknapp would go for the Defoe/Crouch partnership that brought so much success to Portsmouth last season.

Under Redknapp, the two small strikers have struck up a very good understanding, and Redknapp opted to leave the hat-trick hero on the bench in favour of the more mobile strike force.

Their constant running on and off the ball caused Burnley all manner of problems and right from the off it was only a matter of time before Spurs scored.

Burnley to their credit, did not come to defend and the game was a very even one up until Tottenham's first, and they even had a goal ruled out for offside moments before Spurs added their second to put the game beyond the newly promoted team.

Spurs had got off to their best start to a season since 1961 before Manchester United and Chelsea brought them back down to earth with sound defeats, and, with confidence ebbing away, Burnley were the ideal opponents.

The Clarets have yet to pick up a point on their travels this season, and away from home they lack the same cohesiveness that has seen them stay unbeaten at Turf Moor.

And while Tottenham may struggle against the likes of Chelsea and United, they are set up perfectly to expose the weaker teams in the EPL.

At times Spurs' intricate passing was a joy to watch, and Burnley certainly met a different Tottenham side today to the one that scraped past them in the Carling Cup last season.

Tom Huddlestone moved to centre back in a bid to shore up Spurs' defensive frailties as so many of their defenders are injured. This move worked well for the big ex-Derby player but it also worked perfectly for Jenas, who got to partner Wilson Palacios in the Spurs' engine room for the first time this season.

They worked well together, attacked and defended as a unit, and were perfectly balanced by Niko Krankjaer on the left and by Aaron Lennon on the right.

The quartet were in such formidable form that Burnley barely had a moment to think, never mind to get on the ball.

Foundations were clearly set out throughout the team, and Robbie Keane reaped all the rewards. He will remember this game long after he has retired. He passing was excellent, his running tireless, and his finishing exquisite as he exposed Burnley's defenders time and time again.

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