Whether it's the scheming of the Premier League office or the whims of the goddess of luck, sometimes league matches and cup games line up back-to-back, resulting in a two-game showdown.
Normally, teams face each other once in the first half of the season and once in the second half, so their conditions often change significantly between encounters. Fatigue or injuries to key players, or tactical adjustments made by managers after their strategies are exposed over the course of the season, often lead to stylistic shifts from previous matchups.
However, Tottenham and Burnley had faced off at this very venue just three days prior, with the same two teams battling it out. After a wild five-goal thriller (though from Burnley's perspective, it might as well have been a one-sided beating), which delighted home and neutral fans alike despite the frustration and fury of both managers, the two sides were back at it again. With barely enough time to analyze each other's tactical weaknesses, both managers decided to ignore their opponents and focus solely on their own teams' strategies.
Perhaps because both managers drilled their tactics into their players so thoroughly, Burnley and Tottenham—fielding mostly bench players—produced a dull, back-and-forth affair in the Carabao Cup Round of 16. Tottenham, under Antonio Conte, pushed hard in attack but faltered due to missteps in execution, handing possession back to Burnley. Meanwhile, Burnley, led by Hyeong-min, struggled to convert their limited chances into shots on goal with their reserves.
In the end, the tedious match, which failed to produce a single goal in 90 minutes, went to a penalty shootout.
As Gary Lineker, the former England striker who once dominated an era, famously said:
"Football is a game where 22 players chase a ball for 90 minutes, and then Germany wins."
It was a grumbled remark from a tactically astute forward who had lost to Germany in penalty shootouts in the semifinals of both the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1996. His words hinted at how, in a showdown between professional athletes who live and breathe the game, penalty shootouts hinge more on mental strength and focus than technical skill—while also betraying a touch of envy for German cool-headedness.
There was no German team on the pitch today, but the goddess of luck began to toy with the atmosphere nonetheless.
The first penalty takers pitted the two teams' central strikers against each other. Tottenham's Harry Kane, stepping up first, placed the ball on the penalty mark and steadied his breathing. Burnley's goalkeeper, Nick Pope, waved his long arms up and down to unsettle his England teammate. As the home crowd held its breath and the away fans made as much noise as possible, Tottenham's academy-bred ace charged toward the ball and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot.
"Ahhh!!!"
To the shock of the home fans and his teammates, the ball sailed over the bar.
Was it the lingering frustration of Burnley's manager from the last game manifesting itself at the goalpost? With the ace—who never misses penalties—fluffing his shot, Tottenham's nightmare of a penalty shootout began.
Burnley's first kicker, Ashley Barnes, scored.
Tottenham's second kicker, Lucas Moura, scored.
Burnley's second kicker, Josh Brownhill, scored.
As the shootout progressed smoothly, Tottenham's third kicker, Ben Davies, prepared for his turn. In penalties, the highest success rate comes from aiming for the top corners, with the bottom corners being the next best option if confidence wavers. Perhaps rattled by Harry Kane's miss after aiming for the top right corner, Tottenham's center-back opted to use his trusty left foot to target the bottom left. The ball struck the left post and bounced out, prompting groans from the home fans as he clutched his head in despair.
Burnley's third kicker, Hannibal Mejbri, confidently scored, putting Tottenham in a do-or-die situation: if their fourth kicker, Ryan Sessegnon, missed, Burnley would win. The young Tottenham wing-back aimed for the left post like Davies before him, but this time the ball mercifully rolled inside the post for a goal.
However, Burnley's fourth kicker, Maxwel Cornet, calmly slotted his penalty under Tottenham's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, ending the shootout before it even reached the fifth round. Tottenham's two misses handed Burnley the victory.
"Woooahhh!"
Amid the cheers of Burnley's players surrounding Maxwel Cornet and the dejection of Tottenham's squad, Burnley's young manager shook hands with the Italian maestro, avenging the defeat from three days prior. Of course, the unspoken dialogue conveyed through the intense stares of these football-obsessed men continued unabated.
*"Hey, I'll let this one slide."*
*"Oh, come on. Then give me back my Premier League points."*
*"Nah, don't think so."*
No words were exchanged, yet their eyes somehow carried on a conversation perfectly understood between the two football maniacs.
"What are you two doing, staring each other down like that? You're gonna burn holes through each other," said Arthur, watching their sticky eye contact from the sidelines. As the two turned away, he muttered to Hyeong-min in mock disgust.
"Can't you hear it? Conte's heart speaking?"
"Hey, are you okay? Should I call Simon to check on you?"
Arthur gave his manager a bewildered look, half-seriously considering calling the team doctor.
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Despite suffering a blow in their last away game against Tottenham, Burnley had stormed to second place in the Premier League with 7 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in 9 matches. After finishing sixth the previous season, they welcomed West Ham—who had slumped to ninth after a shaky start following a strong prior campaign—to their home turf, aiming to build on their Carabao Cup success.
**23rd minute of the first half.**
With their defensive line sitting deep, West Ham's center-back Kurt Zouma launched a long ball forward to spark a counterattack, only for Burnley's captain, Ben Mee, to intercept it effortlessly. As West Ham's players quickly retreated to close off space, Burnley's squad began a series of crisp triangular passes to break down their opponents' formation.
"Browny!"
Ben Mee passed to Josh Brownhill, who was waiting just past the halfway line.
"Dighty!"
Spotting West Ham's attacking midfielder Nikola Vlašić charging toward him, Brownhill fed the ball to Burnley's left winger Dwight McNeil, who was making a penetrating run.
West Ham's central midfielder Declan Rice and right-back Vladimír Coufal, well aware of Burnley's patterns, swarmed McNeil.
"Charlie!"
Without hesitation, McNeil offloaded the ball to left-back Charlie Taylor, who had tracked up behind him. Taylor then returned it to Josh Brownhill in the center, maintaining the passing triangle.
"Ben!"
With Vlašić still clinging to him, Brownhill played a back pass to Ben Mee in the defensive line. As Vlašić took the bait and rushed toward Mee, the Burnley captain calmly returned the ball to Brownhill. Brownhill then passed to Charlie Taylor, who found Ben Mee again as he began to step up from the back.
Unable to wrest possession, West Ham's formation unwittingly began to tilt toward Burnley's left flank, drawn in like a black hole as the opposition exchanged passes. Soon, Burnley's defensive midfielder Nicholas Seiwald joined the fray, adding a fifth player to the party.
With Seiwald's arrival, Burnley gained an extra passing triangle.
From center-back Ben Mee to central midfielder Josh Brownhill.
"Nicky!"
From Brownhill to defensive midfielder Nicholas Seiwald.
Then back from Seiwald to Ben Mee.
Ignoring West Ham entirely, Burnley's players pinged short, sharp passes among themselves. Finally, center-back James Tarkowski joined the ranks.
"James!"
Now from Ben Mee to James Tarkowski.
From Tarkowski to Nicholas Seiwald.
Six Burnley players linked 13 uninterrupted passes, subtly pulling West Ham's formation a few meters toward their goal, with the opposition's attention fixated on Burnley's left side.
After patiently luring West Ham forward with 13 passes, Burnley seized the moment they'd been waiting for.
"Hannibal!"
Seiwald fired a pinpoint pass to Hannibal Mejbri, waiting on the right. The single move neutralized seven West Ham players who had drifted rightward without realizing it.
Taking the ball in stride, Hannibal immediately delivered a perfect long pass to the feet of Burnley's right winger Karim Adeyemi, who had begun his run into space even before the ball reached Hannibal. It was a textbook delivery—no need to adjust speed or angle.
"Karim!"
"Stop him!!!"
Hannibal's triumphant shout clashed with the panicked cries of West Ham's defenders.
Karim Adeyemi, Manchester United's prized loanee shining at Burnley, latched onto the ball as if giving a masterclass in passing. Facing West Ham's towering goalkeeper Alphonse Areola charging out desperately, Adeyemi coolly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
"Goal! Burnley's first goal! Number 17, Karim Adeyemi, lighting up the Claret faithful~!!!"
The stadium announcer's cry mingled with the roar of a crowd electrified by the beautiful football they'd just witnessed. On TV, viewers could hear the stunned excitement of the commentators.
["Did you see that, folks?!"] ["Fifteen! Fifteen passes in that sequence to dismantle West Ham's solid defense!"] ["Absolutely stunning! Burnley, once reliant solely on rapid counters, have unlocked the goal with mesmerizing passing play!"] ["After trading a win and a loss with Tottenham over the last two games, Burnley's manager Kim has unveiled a fresh tactical layer for his side!"]
As Karim Adeyemi celebrated with a somersault and teammates rushed to congratulate him, Hannibal Mejbri, the architect of the assist, stood in the center of the pitch with his arms crossed.
"Hmph, *that's* how you pass."
A solid thud struck the back of his head.
"Hey, quit messing around and go celebrate with them!"
It was Burnley's dependable enforcer and model citizen, Nicholas Seiwald.
Dragged along reluctantly by Seiwald, a smile crept onto Hannibal's face nonetheless—unaware of the trials that lay ahead.