Tottenham beat Burnley to move two points ahead of Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane celebrates with Son Heung-min after scoring the first goal of a game against Burnley at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur beat Burnley 1-0 on Sunday in their penultimate game of the 2021-22 season, pulling two points ahead of Arsenal to take fourth place and pull ahead in the race for an all-important Champions League spot.

Spurs' one goal came from an injury time penalty at the end of the first half after a hand ball in the box was missed by the referee but caught by VAR. The review and the following furor pushed the game further into injury time, with Harry Kane not stepping up to take the crucial penalty until eight minutes after the whistle should have blown.

Despite being the superior team, that one goal was it for Tottenham. With 21 shots, eight of which were on target, the London club repeatedly failed to get anything past a surprisingly robust Burnley defense. That achievement will do little to comfort the Clarets, however, as the 1-0 loss pushes Burnley down into relegation territory.

With the win, Tottenham move two points ahead of Arsenal as of press time, although the rival London club is still set to play their penultimate game of the season on Monday evening.

With four Champions League spots available each year and five teams still in convention in the dying days of the season, the last day results will prove crucial this year.

Manchester City leads the Premier League with 90 points and one game remaining, while Liverpool trail on 86, but with two games still to play.

The three big London clubs follow. Chelsea sit in third place with 70 points, but they are only two points ahead of Tottenham, although Chelsea still have a game in hand. Tottenham follow on 68, with Arsenal trailing on 66.

Manchester United sit out of contention in sixth place with 58 points.

Arsenal are set to play their penultimate game of the 2021-22 season on Monday night, with Liverpool to face Southampton on Tuesday. Chelsea will play their extra game on Thursday, before all 20 Premier League clubs play their final games of the season on Sunday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]