James Maddison given big warning as Ange Postecoglou decision justified after Burnley

James Maddison was handed his first Tottenham start in three matches in Saturday's comeback victory against Burnley.

With stakes high at opposite ends of the table, it was Vincent Kompany's side that took the lead. Spurs eventually turned things around, boosting their hopes of securing Champions League football whilst relegating their Lancastrian opponents to the second tier.

As one of two changes, it was Maddison that entered in place of Rodrigo Bentancur from last week's defeat at Liverpool. He took up a position behind a front three lacking Richarlison and produced the assist for Micky van de Ven's winning goal.

Despite this crucial contribution, was the No.10 fully up to scratch? No, believes former Premier League striker Glenn Murray.

"James Maddison is not quite there at the moment. Today he’s rediscovered it a bit but I think looking back at these last few months he hasn’t been where his own defined standards are," he told BBC's Final Score.

Taking a deeper delve, the 27-year-old completed 55 passes with the second-highest success rate of anyone on the field, created the joint-third most chances in the match and won five of his eight duels with Burnley players.

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Perhaps Murray's opinion is a harsh one, though he even added the warning: "Earlier in the season he was fantastic but unfortunately for him when Gareth Southgate sits down and picks his squad he’s just got a such abundance of options in that number 10 position."

And ultimately, Ange Postecoglou's decision to restate Maddison in the starting line-up was justified by the fact Spurs came out on top in the most important statistic of all. A win finally ends a run of four defeats that have put a stain on the end of a promising campaign, and the three points that come with it puts even more pressure on rivals Aston Villa for a place in next season's Champions League.