Tottenham 3 Burnley 0 – Frank's young midfield, Richarlison finds form, Dubravka's unwanted history
Martin Dubravka was the first Premier League goalkeeper to be penalised under the new rules for holding onto the ball for eight seconds, with Spurs awarded a corner as a result early on.
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Spurs took the lead on ten minutes when Mohammed Kudus crossed from the right and the ball bounced once before Richarlison steered it into the bottom left corner of Dubravka's goal.
Frank's side threatened little for the rest of the half and Burnley began to grow into the game but Kudus set up Richarlison again on the hour to superbly put Spurs in control and Brennan Johnson added a third six minutes later. Former Spurs youth prodigy Marcus Edwards was given a loud ovation when he came on as a late Burnley substitute.
Here The Athletic's Jay Harris and Elias Burke break down the key talking points.
Spurs set-up with a completely different system against Burnley than the 'special' one they used in Wednesday's penalty shootout defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.
Frank used a 4-2-3-1 formation but, surprisingly, Lucas Bergvall was the most advanced midfielder. He pressed Burnley's defence along with Richarlison and went on a couple of impressive driving runs with the ball. Throughout pre-season, Pape Matar Sarr tended to be the most advanced midfielder.
Archie Gray started as the No 6 and it was his job to do the dirty work so Sarr and Bergvall could stay high. Most of Gray's gametime last season came in defence so it is encouraging to see him start the new campaign in his favourite position. It was a youthful midfield combination but they complemented each other perfectly. It was a brave decision from Frank to start all three together and it paid off.
Spurs were a constant threat down the right with Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus. They have only played together a couple of times during the summer but they seem to dovetail nicely. Kudus loves to shoot with his left-foot but both of his assists came with his right. That unpredictability makes him difficult to defend. When opposition teams double up on him, it creates more space for Porro to whip dangerous crosses into the box.
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Spurs looked slightly more awkward on the left. Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson are both predominantly right-footed so no one was stretching the pitch down that side. This dynamic should improve the more they play together.
The concern ahead of this game was that without a natural No 10 Spurs would struggle to break Burnley down but it turned into a dream start for Frank in his first league game in charge of Spurs.
Jay Harris
If there were any concerns Richarlison was not the man to provide competition for Dominic Solanke up front this season, the Brazilian answered them emphatically with one of his best performances in a Spurs shirt.
Following Wednesday's outing against PSG, where Richarlison led the line excellently as an outlet and target man, he demonstrated his goalscoring prowess against Burnley. He opened the scoring with a wonderfully controlled finish into the goalkeeper's bottom right-hand corner from a Mohammed Kudus cross, and then linked up with the Ghanaian again in the second half for an acrobatic effort — one of his trademark finishes.
He played a role in the third goal too, controlling a bouncing ball in the middle of the park under pressure from the Burnley defenders before Pape Matar Sarr took it and slid Brennan Johnson in, who put Spurs out of sight.
The Brazilian has had a stop-start career in north London due to injuries, but this is a genuine springboard for him to contest for Frank's No. 9 shirt in a World Cup year. With designs on wearing that shirt again for Brazil next summer — as he did in Qatar three years ago — this might be the breakout performance he needed.
Jay Harris
Joao Palhinha was one of Frank's standout performers in the Super Cup on Wednesday, making it all the more surprising that Archie Gray started in the No 6 position for the season opener.
Gray was solid and reliable in possession, completing 39 of his 42 attempted passes, providing a sturdy outlet for full-backs to release the ball to when under pressure. He demonstrated his defensive acumen on several occasions too, most notably winning the ball in midfield and starting a counter-attack ending with a Richarlison effort from close range that he probably should have scored.
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For a player still learning the position — and often struggled to acclimatise to it on the few occasions he was trialled in that role under Ange Postecoglou — it was a steady and impressive first Premier League outing under his new boss.
Having a natural ball-winner like Palhinha to learn from for the season should prove invaluable to Gray's progression. Palhinha demonstrated his ability to win the ball against elite opposition in the Super Cup — something we're still yet to see from Gray — and having a model to emulate out of possession could be what he needs to take another step. Gray has shown glimmers of his extra quality with the ball, indicating his potential to star in that position with defensive improvement.
And with Frank willing to hand him a start in his first Premier League game, Gray seems to be in the perfect environment to continue making strides.
Elias Burke
In the third minute of the game, Burnley's goalkeeper Dubravka claimed Lucas Bergvall's cross after a Spurs throw-in routine.
The 36-year-old was then caught out by one of the new rules which has been introduced by the Premier League for this season. Dubravka held onto the ball, frantically searching for a free team-mate to pass to but they were all marked. After waiting for eight seconds, referee Michael Oliver then blew his whistle.
Everybody in the ground was slightly confused as Spurs went over to take a corner but this is the punishment for teams if their goalkeeper takes too long to play the ball.
For the rest of the game, Spurs' fans took great delight in mocking Dubravka every time he had the ball in his hands. Oliver would raise his hand in the air and countdown from eight to signal to Dubravka how much time he had left.
It feels like the Premier League introduces a strange new rule, which no one asked for, every season which is quickly forgotten about after a few weeks. Let's see how long this one lasts.
Jay Harris
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
Saturday, August 23: Manchester City (Away), Premier League, 12.30pm UK, 7.30am ET
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