Nuno praises Tottenham unity in EFL Cup victory at Burnley

Nuno Espirito Santo hailed the unity demonstrated by Tottenham in their 1-0 EFL Cup fourth-round win over Burnley. 

Lucas Moura’s 68th-minute header proved the difference at Turf Moor as Spurs progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition for the third time in four seasons. 

The visitors were made to dig deep as Burnley pushed for an equaliser late on, but they held out for victory and a first clean sheet in 11 matches in all competitions. 

Nuno felt his players deserved credit for their application as they responded to Sunday’s Premier League defeat at West Ham. 

“We did a good job controlling the way they play,” he said. “We were much better in the second half in terms of mobility and dynamic.  

“The end of the match is about defending, sticking together. It’s good for the team.  

“We know that games require suffering and require unity, so we must congratulate the players because they did a good job.” 

“A tough team to play against. The boys did well.”

Nuno gives his verdict on tonight’s win! pic.twitter.com/NMeMKP6GUU

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 27, 2021

One sour note saw Tottenham lose Bryan Gil to injury after just 25 minutes of the tie, with Nuno revealing they are still awaiting a full assessment of the damage. 

Last season, Spurs were runners-up to Manchester City, whose quest for a fifth straight EFL Cup triumph was ended by a penalty shoot-out defeat at West Ham on Wednesday. 

Nevertheless, Nuno was quick to play down his side’s chances of going the extra step this year after booking their place alongside the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester City in the quarter-final draw. 

“We cannot look much further,” he added. “We came here to go through; we did it in a good way and with a good game.  

“Let’s see the draw and wait for the next one. 

“There are still a lot of teams. Every team involved in the competition is an option, so let’s focus on ourselves.”