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.
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
Edwards urges Luton Town to ignore scrutiny on relegation battle
Rob Edwards is keen for Luton Town to ignore the scrutiny surrounding them in the relegation battle as they prepare for another big game against Wolves.
The Hatters sit one point from safety in the relegation zone after back-to-back 5-1 defeats against Manchester City and Brentford.
While Nottingham Forest also lost last weekend, being beaten 2-0 by Everton, Burnley beat Sheffield United to move them two points behind Luton.
Asked how he is handling the pressure of the relegation battle with only four games left, Edwards said: “The stakes are high already, we all know what it means and it's really important to everyone that's in this at the moment, a number of clubs that are still fighting to try and avoid it and be in the league next season, it's so important.
“Everyone wants to try and stoke the fire I think. We've got a title race on at one end and obviously, there's a relegation battle we're involved in. It's exciting, it's good that we're in the fight, and we've got a chance to get out of it, but really, all I am concerned about right now is our performance tomorrow.”
Man Utd cannot afford to get complacent – Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag urged his players not to get complacent against a Burnley side who are still fighting for their place in the Premier League.
After a run of four games without a win in the top-flight, Manchester United came from behind with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund to beat bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Wednesday.
The Red Devils sit in sixth place on 53 points, three more than Newcastle United below them, but have not yet secured a place in Europe next season.
When asked what kind of challenge Burnley would pose, Ten Hag was full of praise for the way Vincent Kompany has set up his team.
“They play high-intensity football. They have changed their approach slightly in the season. They have had good results and are hard to beat, and all the compliments to Vincent and his staff.
“We can’t afford to think [it’s only X] about any opponent. With the team we have available, we have to be creative. We have to take every opponent with 100% focus. We can’t allow and do a little bit less.”
Burnley’s survival hopes were given a huge boost last weekend with an impressive 4-1 win against Sheffield United, leaving them just three points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th.
With just four games left of the season, Kompany highlighted the characteristics have kept the Clarets within touching distance of the teams around them.
He said: “The biggest thing is consistency, hard work and making sure to not get distracted by the outside noise has been the main factor. We haven't found the recipe for Champions League football yet, but we are improving every game.
"I know we still have a chance and that's all that matters to me, whether it's two teams, three teams or four teams still in it, it doesn't matter too much to me.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
