Harry Kane back to his best as resurgent Tottenham down Burnley to return to winning ways

Burnley 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3: The England forward struck a hat-trick to a clinch a much-needed win for the visitors

Harry Kane celebrates his first goal for Tottenham against Burnley (Getty)

The debate about Dele Alli continues, but there is no argument about Harry Kane’s quality.

As Alli played a controversial role in a convincing Tottenham victory at Turf Moor, Kane got busy creating a piece of Premier League history.

The England forward’s hat-trick took his goal total in the league this calendar year to 36, equalling the record set by Alan Shearer with Blackburn in 1995.

Burnley, who have been outstanding this season, got a severe reality check. While Sean Dyche’s side could justifiably grumble about some refereeing decisions that went against them, they could not dispute that the better team won.

Alli’s capacity to generate heat rose on a chilly evening. In the first seven minutes, he picked up a booking for a dangerous challenge and won a highly contentious penalty. The home fans responded by booing his every touch after that.

Dele was lucky not to be sent off for a dangerous early tackle (Getty)

It was a heated evening in East Lancashire, as Tottenham faced up to opponents who have unexpectedly become rivals on the fringe of the Champions League places. That rivalry frequently threatened to spill over, and referee Michael Oliver had a job in maintaining control. Alli, whatever Burnley’s fans may tell you, was not always the sinner.

Alli’s dip in form this season has been a puzzle that manager Mauricio Pochettino has struggled to resolve. In the opening stages, though, he certainly made his presence felt.

Inside the first four minutes, Alli was booked for a dangerous challenge on Burnley’s left-back Charlie Taylor. It was not as bad as his dreadful tackle on Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne last weekend, and the yellow card shown by Oliver was probably the correct decision, but it set the tone.

What followed less than three minutes later left Burnley manager Sean Dyche furious. Alli fell to the floor under what appeared to be minimal contact by centre-back Kevin Long, called up to replace the suspended James Tarkowski. Oliver pointed to the penalty spot, and Harry Kane scored his 34th Premier League goal of 2017, sending goalkeeper Nick Pope the wrong way. Chants of ‘cheat’, aimed at Alli, rang around the home sections.

Kane converted the early penalty (Getty)

Burnley, normally so disciplined, lost their cool for a while after that. Ben Mee left Kane on the turf with a challenge that went without a card. Later in the half, Steven Defour went in hard on Alli after taking objection with the Tottenham man’s challenge on Jack Cork. This was no place to be a referee, and Oliver appeared to be struggling to keep the players under control.

Defensively, the home side looked ragged. Kane prodded wide after beating Pope to a through ball from Alli, who then led a Tottenham counter-attack from a Burnley corner that should have led to a second goal. The midfielder gathered Christian Eriksen’s pass out of defence and played Moussa Sissoko clear, but Burnley’s goalkeeper saved twice with his legs to keep the deficit to a single goal.

Tottenham continued to threaten after half-time, and it was a wonder they had not put the match out of sight by the hour mark.

Three clear opportunities came and went in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, with Kane, Eriksen and Son Heung-min all failing at the key moment.

Kane celebrates after putting Spurs ahead (Getty)

Son’s miss was the worst, as he lifted over the bar from 12 yards with only Pope to beat after Kane’s wonderful pass on the turn had sent Serge Aurier clear down the right.

A second Tottenham goal was coming, and it arrived with 20 minutes to go. Mee’s poor ball out of defence was pounced upon by Sissoko, who sent Kane through to slot beyond Pope.

The hat-trick was completed with 12 minutes left, as Johann Gudmundsson lost the ball to Ben Davies, before Alli’s first-time pass allowed Kane to drive across Pope and into the far corner.

Substitute Sam Vokes thought he had pulled one back with a header soon afterwards, but Oliver ruled that he had pushed over the goalkeeper. It was that kind of night for Burnley, but they will surely have better days to come.

Burnley (4-2-3-1): Pope; Bardsley, Long, Mee, Taylor; Cork, Defour; Gudmundsson, Hendrick (Vokes 71), Arfield (Wells 86); Wood (Barnes 35).

Substitutes: Lindegaard, Lowton, Westwood, Walters.

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Sissoko, Dier (Lamela 83); Eriksen, Alli (Llorente 87), Son (Dembele 78); Kane.

Substitutes: Vorm, Trippier, Rose, Foyth.

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)​