LONDON (Reuters) – A contested Harry Kane penalty on the stroke of halftime gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 Premier League win over relegation-threatened Burnley on Sunday, moving Antonio Conte’s team into a Champions League qualification place.
Spurs climbed above North London rivals Arsenal into fourth on 68 points from 37 games — the Gunners are on 66 from 36 matches and can return to the top four if they win at Newcastle United on Monday.
Tottenham dominated the opening 20 minutes but Burnley’s makeshift defence held firm with Nick Pope making several key saves and the visitors went close when Maxwel Cornet forced a fine stop from Hugo Lloris.
But in stoppage time before the interval, referee Kevin Friend was sent to the monitor to review a handball incident and ruled that the arm of Ashley Barnes had been in an “unnatural position” when the ball struck it.
Kane drilled the spot0kick into the bottom corner but Burnley’s protests continued after the halftime whistle with angry exchanges in the tunnel.
Pope made two outstanding saves after the break to keep out Son Heung-min while Barnes struck the post for Burnley with a thundering drive from distance.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, Editing by Ed Osmond)
