Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Burnley as Richarlison nets a brace

Tottenham Hotspur left their Super Cup heartbreak in the rear-view mirror this afternoon as they put three goals past Burnley without reply in the Premier League.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from Tottenham 3-0 Burnley:

Tottenham practice for the Champions League

Tottenham Hotspur need to get used to playing huge games in midweek before getting the job done in the Premier League at the weekend this season. And what better way to do that than playing against the best team in Europe – PSG – just three days before a Premier League opener? Spurs could face even tougher challenges in the future too, with Burnley at home being a pretty preferable fixture to face off the back of a European away trip. For Frank and co, it’s all about balancing fitness and form, and getting the best out of the full squad, rather than just the first-choice XI. This week, they got it spot on and got the job done.

Thomas Frank rings the Tottenham changes

We are only one game into the Premier League season and Thomas Frank has already shown that he isn’t afraid to make changes when needed. With Tottenham only having a few days’ rest after their flight back from Udine, the new Spurs boss decided to name a few of his first-team stars on the bench.

Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, who covered every blade of grass between them in the Super Cup, were handed a well-deserved breather. Kevin Danso dropped to the bench, with Frank preferring a 4-3-3 rather than a 3-5-2 this time around. Brennan Johnson also came into attack to take some of the pressing and running burden from the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison.

While Ange Postecoglou rarely liked to deviate from his tried-and-tested methods, it seems Frank is more than happy to adapt his formation and starting XI to each individual challenge.

Dominic Solanke has real competition from Richarlison

Richarlison has been injured so often for Tottenham Hotspur, fans have forgotten to look at him as any more than a Dominic Solanke backup. However, Thomas Frank has been singing the praises of Richarlison all summer long, and with Solanke still not ready to start, the Brazilian impressed once again this afternoon.

After working his socks off to lead the line in his trademark nuisance fashion against PSG, Richy also showed his goalscoring prowess against Burnley. The Spurs striker dispatched a tricky chance in the first half, getting his hip over the ball to guide a Kudus cross into the far corner on the volley. Fast forward to the second half and Richarlison one-upped himself with an acrobatic bicycle kick, once again from a Kudus cross. World-class goalscoring. If they can keep him fit, Tottenham may have a genuine number 9 battle over the coming weeks.

Tottenham are going to score plenty of goals this season

It’s easy to get ahead of yourself after a home win against newly-promoted Burnley, but I think it is safe to say that Tottenham Hotspur will score goals this season. Thomas Frank has already shown how direct he wants his Spurs side to play, with plenty of balls in behind and early crosses into the box.

Richarlison already has a brace. Brennan Johnson, who need I remind you didn’t even get a kick against PSG, has opened his account. Dominic Solanke is back, fit and ready. Mohammed Kudus has two assists to his name and looks consistently dangerous. Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert offer young, pacy, direct options off the bench.

Not to mention the fact that Spurs could still sign Eberechi Eze and Savinho AND they have James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to come back into the side in the future. Spurs are scoring goals without a creative spark in the number 10 – they should only improve once they nail that down.

Lucas Bergvall long throw understudy

Tottenham fans were treated to their first glimpse of Kevin Danso’s wicked long throw against PSG in the Super Cup on Wednesday. It appears that Lucas Bergvall has also been selected to launch the ball from the touchline in the final third. While the Swede didn’t have the same power as Danso, meaning he was unable to deliver the ball long and flat into the box, it still proved to be an interesting asset. It remains to be seen whether Tottenham are able to train that skill into any other first-team regulars as the season progresses.