Harry Kane’s penalty in the first half was a difference as Tottenham did enough to beat Burnley 1-0 in the Premier League and increase the heat to Arsenal in the fourth leg.
Spurs’ 3-0 victory over the north London derby against the Gunners on Thursday left a one-point gap between the two rivals on the table and, while Antonio Conte’s men were disappointed when they visited Burnley, Harry Kane got the result they were looking for.
Clarets, who had been battling it out for the first time, did a good job of blocking Tottenham until they conceded what they felt was a heavy penalty when Kane reversed his 23rd Tottenham kick in a row.
Burnley then enjoyed some encouraging spells after a while, with Ashley Barnes hitting the post, but the Tottenham – who saw Son Heung-min twice denied by Nick Pope – managed to hold on to another important win.
Spurs’ impressive start did not provide many clear opportunities, with Harry Kane and Emerson Royal very close when they forced a direct save from the Pope.
Burnley grew up as an attacker and was to take the lead when Maxwell Cornet fired straight at Hugo Lloris in a one-man situation.
Harry Kane fired heavily as the Tottenham looked to be heading into the break frustrated, but a VAR review also saw Barnes handball when the opportunity was created, with the Tottenham talismanic striker in the clinic from 12 yards out.
The spurs’ start to the second half was sloppy though, and Burnley almost spent the money.
Josh Brownhill applauded a wide range of pain before Barnes hit the post from 25 yards just an hour later.
Son looked determined to eliminate Burnley in the last 25 minutes, but Pope issued a low save and stopped denying it too late – not that it was important to Spurs.