Manchester City avoided defeat at West Ham on Sunday, drawing 2-2 to stay in control of their Premier League battle with Liverpool.
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The draw, which also secured West Ham a return to European football, means City can win the title with a victory over Aston Villa in the final round of fixtures.
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen struck twice in the first half but Jack Grealish pulled one back for City early in the second half before Vladimir Coufal scored an own goal. Riyad Mahrez missed a golden chance to seal a City win after he missed a late penalty.
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After City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko lost track of Bowen, the West Ham forward raced on to Pablo Fornals’ pass over the top and took it around goalkeeper Ederson for a clinical finish in the 24th minute.
Bowen added another in the 45th minute when Michail Antonio sent him through with a clever pass and the English forward’s low strike from the edge of the box found the bottom corner.
City playmaker Grealish scored for the visitors in the 49th minute with a volley from inside the box before West Ham defender Coufal headed a cross from Mahrez into his own net in the 69th minute.
Mahrez could have turned hero for City in the 86th minute but his spot-kick was kept out by keeper Lukasz Fabianski after Craig Dawson brought down Gabriel Jesus in the penalty box.
Spurs Victorious Over Burnley
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.
Burnley, under caretaker manager Mike Jackson, went into the game in 17th place and slipped back into the bottom three after Leeds United avoided defeat at home to Brighton.
Despite dominating the chances, Spurs were hanging on nervously in the final minutes and Conte praised their resilience with so much at stake and just a single goal lead against a team who beat them in February.
Tottenham dominated the opening 20 minutes, but Burnley’s makeshift defence held firm with keeper 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 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 spot-kick 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.
But Spurs were forced to defend deep in the closing stages as Burnley pumped crosses into the area in the hope of a late equaliser.
It didn’t arrive and a relieved crowd were left to celebrate three vital points for Spurs whose last game of the season is at relegated Norwich City.
Source: Reuters, AP
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