Turf Moor was primed for the sort of afternoon Burnley have been pleading for, the kind that can loosen a season’s grip and turn belief into points, until Cristian Romero climbed in the final minute and ripped the script in half with a flying header that earned Tottenham a 2-2 draw and left the home side staring at another lead that wouldn’t hold.
Burnley’s long wait for a league win goes on, and the frustration was etched into the full-time scene: bodies slumped in claret, a roar of anger from the stands, and a sense that the result hurt more because the victory was so close you could almost taste it. Spurs, meanwhile, left with a point that felt more like a temporary plaster than a solution. Even after Romero’s rescue, the travelling support made clear their broader mood, booing and directing chants at Thomas Frank as Tottenham’s mid-table drift and defensive fragility remain stubbornly unresolved.
Tottenham started with intent and a shape designed to control the flanks. Frank opted for a back three, wing-backs high, and extra numbers in midfield, and within seconds Spurs nearly struck through Djed Spence, whose early burst down the right ended with a cut-back skidding through a dangerous corridor without anyone arriving to finish. It was a bright opening, but also an early hint of what followed: Spurs found good areas, yet repeatedly failed to land the decisive punch.
Burnley’s first-half approach was familiar: deep lines, narrow distances, and quick outlets aimed at turning defence into counterattack. A disallowed goal for Lucas Pires, flagged offside, briefly lifted the ground, but Tottenham soon settled into a rhythm of pressure. Pedro Porro’s delivery began to ask questions, and Martin Dúbravka was quickly forced into serious work. Wilson Odobert, back at the club he left, twice tested the Burnley goalkeeper, and Conor Gallagher had a close-range effort that demanded sharp reflexes. Spurs were edging closer, tightening the screw, and Burnley were relying increasingly on Dúbravka’s hands and their own last-ditch blocks.
The breakthrough came from the kind of chaos Tottenham have leaned on too often this season: a set-piece and a second ball falling kindly. After a corner wasn’t cleared cleanly, the loose ball dropped and Micky van de Ven struck low into the corner on 38 minutes. Tottenham celebrated like a side expecting that goal to open the floodgates, and for a few minutes it looked like Burnley might buckle. Odobert then had a chance to turn the game into something more comfortable for Spurs, but again Dúbravka was equal to it, and Burnley survived long enough to land their own blow.
It arrived at the perfect moment, right on half-time, and it was a goal that exposed Tottenham’s marking and punished their lapse in concentration. Kyle Walker, captaining Burnley, delivered an excellent ball from the right and Axel Tuanzebe arrived at the far post to steer home in the 45th minute. It was Burnley’s first shot on target, and it sent Turf Moor into the interval with fresh belief and a completely different pulse.
The second half belonged more to Burnley’s spirit than Tottenham’s control. Spurs still saw plenty of the ball, but it was slower and less incisive, and Burnley began to win duels with greater frequency and conviction. Frank reshuffled, withdrawing Porro and introducing Destiny Udogie, and the match became scrappier, more physical, and increasingly played at Burnley’s preferred tempo. Spurs had moments, but they didn’t dominate in the way their possession suggested they should.
Chances came at both ends. Armando Broja threatened as Burnley’s outlet, drawing a crucial block and forcing Tottenham’s defenders to retreat and recover. Dominic Solanke, starting in the league for the first time this season, had openings without ever quite generating the clean contact Spurs needed. The longer it stayed level, the more Burnley sensed that one moment, one loose clearance, one error under pressure, could deliver something precious.
That moment arrived in the 76th minute and it was pure survival-chase football: urgent, messy, ruthless. Jaidon Anthony slipped Lyle Foster through, Guglielmo Vicario saved the first effort with an outstretched boot, but Tottenham failed to clear and Foster reacted quickest to slam the rebound in. Turf Moor erupted. Burnley were 2-1 up and staring at a first league win since October, while Spurs looked like a team about to be swallowed whole by the noise around them.
Tottenham responded with the only currency they had left: numbers forward and relentless pressure. Frank threw on extra attacking options, Spurs poured into the Burnley box, and Dúbravka once again became Burnley’s lifeline. He denied Mathys Tel and dealt with a series of efforts and deliveries as Burnley’s defensive line sank deeper with every passing second. When Xavi Simons smashed a strike against the crossbar in the 89th minute, it felt like Spurs had used up their final chance and Burnley’s resistance might finally be rewarded.
Instead, Spurs found one last delivery and one last act of leadership. On 90 minutes, Odobert swung a cross in from the right and Romero attacked it with conviction, powering a header beyond Dúbravka to make it 2-2. Tottenham celebrated hard, Burnley froze, and the sting was immediate: from the brink of a season-shifting win to yet another painful draw in the space of a heartbeat.
The statistics reflected Tottenham’s territorial control and Burnley’s resilience. Spurs had 62.8% possession and finished with 18 shots to Burnley’s nine, forcing 11 efforts on target to Burnley’s four. Dúbravka’s nine saves were the clearest explanation for why Burnley remained ahead so late, while the expected-goals numbers leaned Tottenham’s way too, 2.29 to 1.46, reinforcing the sense that Spurs created enough to win but again needed a late rescue to avoid defeat.
For Burnley, the point is not nothing, but it won’t feel like enough. It extends their winless league run to 14 matches and keeps them second-bottom, seven points from safety, their predicament unchanged despite another performance that was brave, organised and, for long spells, genuinely effective. For Tottenham, the draw is a lifeline without comfort. Romero’s header saved them in the moment, but the bigger questions remain, hanging in the cold Lancashire air as loudly as the final whistle chorus from their own fans.
