PEDRO PORRO has shown Trent Alexander-Arnold that he has a festival for the name of the most electrifying right-back turned midfielder of the moment.
This match is shaping up to be the first boring match of the Ange Postecoglou era and is headed for a premature replay.
That was until Porro, the bright light of the Spurs game, stole the ball in the 78th minute and dropped it 25 yards.
The Spaniard could not have hit it any sweeter, as it flew into the top corner with all the laser-like precision of a vintage Cristiano Ronaldo howitzer.
Porro has been a revelation this season with Postecoglou, quietly experiencing one of the most impressive full-back conversions since Patrice Evra years ago at Manchester United.
Evra struggled in his first six months in English football, but he became a United legend.
It’s fair to say that Porro ended a nightmare in the second half of last season, following his arrival from Sporting Lisbon, amid the end of the Antonio Conte era and the chaos that followed.
Fans were left wondering just what Postecoglou was going to do with the Spain international, who did not start the first game of the season at Brentford.
The answer has been to turn him into one of the most creative players in the league who, like Alexander-Arnold, makes a mockery of his alleged right-back position by popping up all over the shop and making things happen.
Spurs desperately needed him here because they were running out of concepts without all their injured players and their inspirational captain Son Heung-min, who flew to the Asian Cup with South Korea.
To be fair to Postecoglou, he played with everything he had, although he has no excuse not to, given the few games this month.
Spurs have been bolstered by the return to the bench of star defender Micky van de Ven after a two-month absence due to a hamstring problem. A minute later, the enthusiasts were chanting the Dutchman’s name.
Unlike their hosts, Burnley made adjustments (five in total) and it was new face Anass Zaroury who was in the spotlight from the early stages.
First, the Moroccan risked giving away a penalty with a clumsy tackle on Destiny Udogie that VAR looked at but agreed with on-field ref Sam Barrott’s decision not to give a spot-kick.
Then Zaroury pricked Guglielmo Vicario’s fingertips with a shot from distance.
In the 16th minute, nigh-on all of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, including Postecoglou, were applauding in honour of 16-year-old Spurs fan Harry Pitman, who was tragically stabbed to death on New Year’s Eve.
Without Son, the scoring burden fell even more on Richarlison, who finally found his shooting boots for the Spurs over the Christmas season with five goals in as many games.
But he still has a long way to go to convince his enthusiasts that he is smart enough to be a normal person with them.
And the way he squandered two first-half chances, weakly firing at the keeper, will have done little to persuade them.
Burnley took the lead when Zaroury cheekily threw the ball over the Spurs byline to play to teammate Zeki Amdouni, who pinned it under his feet and then fired a shot from a few yards away.
Spurs tried to pick up speed after the break, in which Burnley’s star striker Lyle Foster was substituted but lacked creativity.
The list of absentees, which also included James Maddison and Manor Solomon, is revealing.
Postecoglou took action by bringing on Bryan Gil for Gio Lo Celso and moving Dejan Kulusevski into the middle.
It did not appear to have the desired effect and as Richarlison failed to make the most of another opening in the Burnley box, a replay looked inevitable.
However, from the play, when Muric threw the ball to substitute Ameen Al-Dakhil, Porro sprang into action to replace the narrative.
He tackled Al-Dakhil, headed into the box, took and shot the ball.
He blew the whistle on the most sensible corner for a magnificent first goal of the season and worthy of winning any game.
Spurs almost made it 2-0 when sub Ryan Sessegnon making a surprise return after a lengthy spell out with a hamstring problem saw Muric tip his shot wide.
Muric then went up for a Burnley corner deep into seven minutes of stoppage time, but Spurs held out to ensure it was Porro’s day.
The 24-year-old told SunSport in an exclusive interview that in Spain there is a saying that “tomorrow the sun will rise”, meaning better times are coming, however dark they may be.
After last season’s misery, a new day has certainly dawned for Porro in N17.
Follow ALL the action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with our blog below. . .
©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered Office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. “The Sun”, “Sun”, “Sun Online” are registered trade marks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided under News Group Newspapers’ Limited’s popular terms and situations in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. To inquire about a license to reproduce material, please visit our distribution site. Check out our online press kit. For other requests, please contact us. To view all of The Sun’s content, please use the site map. Sun’s website is regulated through the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO).
Our hounds check that they are accurate, but we make mistakes. To learn more about our complaints policy and to register a complaint, please click on this link: thesun. co. uk/editorial-complaints/