‘To score that amount in any game is quite significant’ – Wayne’s delight for Luca and Tynan
Wed 10 December 2025, 19:40|
Tottenham Hotspur
Wayne Burnett praised his players for a superb, clinical display in our 9-1 UEFA Youth League thrashing of Slavia Prague on Tuesday.
Tynan Thompson and Luca Williams-Barnett both netted hat-tricks, with the latter adding two more to become the first player since Dane Scarlett in 2021 to score five goals in an Academy game as our youngsters rounded off the league stage of the competition in stunning fashion at Hotspur Way.
Defender James Rowswell added the icing on the cake with his fourth goal in Europe this season, while captain Callum Olusesi claimed three assists over the course of the contest – goalkeeper Dylan Thompson even chipped in with an assist on his first appearance in the tournament.
Coach Wayne was naturally delighted with the team’s performance, with the huge margin of victory meaning we’re now the competition’s top scorers this season on 28 so far.
“We were very clinical on the day,” he said. “We’ve got some talented players, we took our goals well and I thought as a collective we were very good. Defensively we were good – certainly in the second half we limited their chances, we closed the spaces down quickly and utilised our strengths well – and then offensively, to score that amount of goals in any game and in any competition is quite significant.
“We got into some nice areas, threatened their back line very well and created lots of opportunities. Luca and Tynan might get the headlines but you need players around them to provide those chances. We saw during the game that both of them can be clinical and they’re highly-competitive – after scoring three, they wanted to score more and they’ve contributed significantly in this competition so far, so hopefully that can continue. Both are threatening in attack, they’re certainly clinical in those moments and that was the difference for us on Tuesday.
“I was also pleased with the amount of minutes Jun’ai Byfield completed in defence, considering he hasn’t played in some time because of his injury, so it was really nice to have him back.”
While the Under-19 competition has, until this point, mirrored the senior UEFA Champions League with its league stage fixtures, the tournament now takes a different format with the top 22 teams after six matches being joined by 10 sides from the domestic champions pathway to contest the round of 32, the draw for which takes place on Friday.
Wayne says he’s been pleased with the way our players have expressed themselves in the initial phase of the competition: “We were certainly worthy winners in the four games where we came out on top,” he said. “They were tough games, including Bodo/Glimt away, Monaco away wasn’t an easy place to go and in our two home wins against Villarreal and Slavia Prague, we were worthy of the victories we achieved.
“Against Copenhagen, we probably deserved a draw but we didn’t get it and against PSG we were second best on the day, but it was nevertheless a high-quality game. I keep reminding the players that this competition is the best of the best in Europe and it’s an opportunity for us to show the players that we have and our identity. It’s a showcase of us as a football club and with our quality, effort, application, bravery and attitude, hopefully we can continue and go as far as we can in the tournament.”
