MY ACCOUNT
Harry Kane’s first-half penalty was the difference as Tottenham did just enough to beat Burnley 1-0 in the Premier League and increase the heat on Arsenal in the race for fourth.
Spurs’ 3-0 north London derby victory over the Gunners on Thursday left just a one-point gap between the two rivals in the table and, while Antonio Conte’s men disappointed during the visit of Burnley, Kane secured the desired result.
The relegation-battling Clarets initially did a fine job of keeping Spurs at bay until conceding what they felt was a harsh penalty, with Kane converting his 23rd successive spot-kick for Tottenham.
Burnley then enjoyed encouraging spells after the interval, with Ashley Barnes hitting the post, but Spurs – who saw Son Heung-min denied twice by Nick Pope – managed to cling onto another important win.
A dominant Spurs start did not yield many clear-cut chances, with Kane and Emerson Royal going closest when forcing straightforward saves from Pope.
Burnley grew as an attacking presence themselves and should have taken the lead when Maxwel Cornet shot straight at Hugo Lloris in a one-on-one situation.
Kane fired wide as Spurs looked to be heading into the break frustrated, but a VAR review subsequently spotted a handball by Barnes in the build-up to that chance, and Spurs’ talismanic striker was clinical from 12 yards.
Spurs’ start to the second half was sloppy, however, and Burnley almost capitalised.
Josh Brownhill headed agonisingly wide, before Barnes smashed against the post from 25 yards just past the hour.
Son twice looked destined to finish Burnley off in the final 25 minutes, but Pope produced a fine save down low and then made a reaction stop to deny him late on – not that it mattered for Spurs.
What does it mean? All eyes on Arsenal again
It was not vintage by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not when compared to their excellent north London derby win in midweek, but Spurs did what they needed on Sunday.
They moved up to fourth in the table, two points better off than Arsenal ahead of their trip to Newcastle United on Monday.
There were times here – particularly in the second half – where Spurs looked nervous, and so Conte will surely be relieved they got the job done.
Spurs relentless on the flanks
While Spurs’ overall display may not have been excellent, they were at least effective out wide. Lucas Moura, starting due to Dejan Kulusevski’s recent bout of illness, and Ryan Sessegnon both supplied four key passes – no one managed more – from their wide roles.
Pope unfortunate in defeat
If there was one Burnley player who did not deserve to lose, it was Pope. The goalkeeper made six saves, two of which were exceptional.
Key Opta facts
– Tottenham have won 13 Premier League games at home this season; only in 2009-10 (14) and 2016-17 (17) have they won more in a single campaign in the competition.
– Burnley have lost nine of their past 10 away league games at Spurs (D1), including seven of eight in the Premier League. That is their most away defeats against a single opponent in the competition.
– Spurs have gone 10 consecutive Premier League games without conceding more than once in a match, their longest such run since March-August 2017 (a run of 12).
– Kane has scored each of the past 21 penalties he has taken in all competitions for Tottenham (excluding shoot-outs) and found the back of the net in 15 in a row in the top flight.
What’s next?
Spurs go to Norwich City next Sunday as they look to secure fourth, while Burnley travel to Aston Villa on Thursday.
