Tottenham Hotspur’s title aspirations were dealt a huge blow at Turf Moor on Saturday, as Burnley secured a 2-1 victory to hand the visitors their seventh loss of the Premier League campaign.
The north London side are now six and five points behind Liverpool and Manchester City respectively, and things are set to get tougher with a midweek trip to Chelsea next.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons following an outburst with referee Mike Dean post-game, and it is expected that he faces the music for such inappropriate behaviour towards a match official.
“I expect Mauricio Pochettino to be charged by the FA for his behaviour towards referee Mike Dean — and the recording of their exchange could be used in evidence. Pochettino was angered with the award of a corner which led to Burnley’s opening goal and, perhaps, by something Dean said — at least judging by the reaction of the Spurs boss,” Clattenburg wrote in the Sportsmail.
“I have known Dean for a number of years and I am confident he would have said something in reaction to the manager’s outburst after the final whistle.
“However, managers know that they should not behave like this in front of cameras. Such confrontations normally occur 30 minutes after the match in the referees’ dressing room.”
Pochettino’s action came across as a huge shock given his usually gentle demeanour. He is not one to angrily confront referees no matter what happens, but it’s safe to say the pressure to win something is finally getting to him.
A win against Burnley would have kept Spurs firmly in the title race ahead of the Stamford Bridge trip, and things could even get messier going forward should they lose against Chelsea too.
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