Tottenham Hotspur have moved to within seven points of Premier League leaders Chelsea with a 2-0 victory away at Burnley.
Spurs struggled to get going during a drab opening 45 minutes, but goals from Eric Dier and Son Heung-min ensured that they capitalised on Chelsea's shock defeat to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
Burnley were hosting a Premier League fixture for the first time since February 12, but while they proved to be a match for the North Londoners in the opening stages, they were only able to create one half-chance through George Boyd, who headed straight at Hugo Lloris.
Mauricio Pochettino had included Vincent Janssen in the Spurs attack but despite offering a physical presence, he was unable to pose a threat in the final third.
It took until the half-hour mark before Spurs came close to taking the lead in the North-West, with Dele Alli firing over from close range after Tom Heaton had made a solid intervention from Christian Eriksen.
Just before the break, Spurs suffered a double injury blow as Vincent Wanyama and Harry Winks both went off injured, and it forced Pochettino into a reshuffle at the break.
The enforced alterations seemed to be a blessing in disguise as Janssen soon got involved with a shot which was saved by Heaton, while Moussa Sissoko squandered a chance shortly after the hour mark by firing off target from inside the penalty area.
However, with 24 minutes left, they did break the deadlock through Dier, who fired into the net from close range after Burnley had failed to clear Eriksen's corner.
Burnley had offered very little in the second half and it was effectively game over when Spurs netted a second shortly into the final 15 minutes of the game.
Alli played a part in launching a counter-attack for the visitors and after he teed up Son inside the six-yard box, he could not miss and it left Burnley looking to avoid a heavier defeat during the closing stages.
Most of their play was coming through Alli, who curled marginally off target from range before he missed out on an opening much closer to goal after being assisted by Son.
The visitors were able to coast through the remaining minutes, but that suited Pochettino with this hard-earned win coming at a cost due to the injuries to Wanyama and Winks.
Darren Plant
