Burnley 1, Spurs 0: Chris Boden's thoughts as lightning strikes twice at Turf Moor

But, as science has shown, that idiom is not necessarily true.

And three years to the day since Burnley’s last win over Spurs, they repeated the feat, having scored three goals to win at Brighton in their previous outing!

To add to the air of familiarity, as in 2017, when Sean Dyche’s side won at champions Chelsea on the opening day of the season – after Antonio Conte had spent most of the summer complaining about a lack of signings – Burnley saw off the Italian’s charges, with Conte having been vocal of late about Spurs’ January business.

Like that win against Tottenham at Turf Moor in 2019 – against a side that went to the Champions League Final just over three months later - and at Stamford Bridge 18 months earlier, this was Burnley at their very best.

Defensively solid, they frustrated England skipper Harry Kane to the extent he spent most of the night in referee Graham Scott’s ear, after seven goals and three assists in his last six league appearances against Burnley.

It was a question of whether the Clarets could find a moment in the attacking third, to get, as Dyche often speaks about, on the right side of the margins, and that they did 19 minutes from time.

Captain Ben Mee led by example, building on a solid display at the back by showing the desire and determination to get on the end of a free kick from the excellent Josh Brownhill.

Having isolated Cristian Romero at the far post, there was only one winner as Mee guided his header back across Hugo Lloris into the far corner.

Mee and Burnley could have had more goals as they looked to add to their lead, the skipper having two bites at the cherry from a Dwight McNeil corner, the second of which was inadvertently turned over by Jay Rodriguez.

And for those of a certain statistical persuasion, the Clarets edged the game on xG, or expected goals, by 1.75 to 0.72, to emphasise a deserved win.

The final whistle was met by a terrific roar, with players and fans united.

The players appreciated the cheers as they went down the tunnel at half-time goal-less after a good performance, and as Mee tweeted afterwards: “Buzzing. What a feeling. Back to back wins. Massive. Turf Moor bouncing again and the lads reacted to that.”

Wout Weghorst saluted the supporters, who he has quickly won over, punching the air repeatedly, with roars of “come on!”

The Dutchman was again influential in another fine display, his workrate catching the attention on this occasion.

Weghorst’s commitment to the cause is admirable, and infectious.

I asked Dyche before the game whether he could see similarities between Weghorst and Joey Barton, in the standards he sets and demands of himself and his teammates, with Dyche saying: “I know what you mean, Wout’s come in super open-minded, rubbing off on people with who he is and how he is, the way he goes about it.

“He’s willing to work, willing to fight, but he’s willing to play and is a very good footballer.”

His ability to make the ball stick, whether it is played into his feet, chest or head, has given the side a new dimension, and given the midfield the confidence and belief to gamble and get beyond him, as shown with Brownhill’s goal at Brighton on Saturday.

But while the former Wolfsburg man impressed again, it was nigh on impossible to single out a man of the match, from a superb team effort.

Nick Pope was relatively quiet but efficient in front of Gareth Southgate, with Mee and James Tarkowski typically brave and organised.

Connor Roberts did the day job of defending well and got forward to supplement the attack, and Erik Pieters continues to show his superb professionalism – the former Stoke man is an absolute warrior, who deserves to retain his place when Charlie Taylor is fit again.

Aaron Lennon continues to play like a younger version of himself, while Dwight McNeil looks more direct and dynamic after being left out of the starting line-up against Liverpool.

Jack Cork has given Dyche a nice selection dilemma with Ashley Westwood likely to be available at Crystal Palace, looking like the player who has been an integral part of two top-half finishes, and Brownhill is like a man possessed.

The last three games he has shown everything to suggest he can be a very effective midfielder at this level, putting his foot in, with high energy levels disrupting opponents’ passing lanes, while providing more in the final third.

And Jay Rodriguez again showed how much the town and club mean to him in a whoile-hearted display, working tirelessly for the cause.

That Burnley could perform as they did without Maxwel Cornet, Westwood, Taylor, Matej Vydra and Johann Berg Gudmundsson is even more impressive, and the squad could look a lot more healthy at the key stage of the season.

Burnley have put the cat among the pigeons with successive wins, with a few nerves jangling no doubt at Brentford, Everton, Leeds and Newcastle, and maybe even Aston Villa and Leicester.

One thing is for sure, Dyche and his players know there is a long way to go before the Clarets secure what would be a seventh-successive season in the Premier League, as the manager said: “There’s plenty more work to be done.

“I’ve reminded the players of that, but they know that anyway.”

But the situation looks a hell of a lot more promising after as uplifting a week as the club has enjoyed since last January, when Liverpool and Villa were beaten in successive league games.