Christian Eriksen’s stoppage-time strike broke Burnley’s brave resistance as Tottenham maintained their pursuit of the top two in the Premier League.
It looked as if the Clarets had held on to a deserved point, but in the 91st minute substitute Eriksen popped up in the area to slam his shot high past Joe Hart.
The Burnley goalkeeper had earlier pulled off a magnificent save to deny Erik Lamela on a day when the home side produced very few clear-cut chances.
The victory moves third-placed Spurs to 39 points and within three of Liverpool in second. Burnley remain in 17th with 12 points – two points above the relegation zone.
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Perseverance paid off for Tottenham in midweek and it did so again against Burnley.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men tried several combinations to unlock the visiting defence, but time and time again they were thwarted. Most of their forays broke down on the edge of the area.
They did, though, break through on a handful of occasions, with Moura and substitute Son going close. The Brazilian, the hero against the Catalans last Tuesday, poked a volley wide before Son’s angled drive just missed Hart’s far post.
In between those two chances, Hart pulled off a superb stop to deny Lamela.
With seconds remaining Pochettino, wearing a woolly hat in wet Wembley conditions, looked a beaten man until one of his generals raised his spirits and brought the home support to their feet.
It was striker Harry Kane the provider, as he laid the ball into the path of Eriksen, who fired his shot beyond the reach of Hart.
Clarets’ resilience unrewarded
The result was cruel on Burnley.
This was the sort of resolute performance against one of the ‘Big Six’ we got used to seeing from Sean Dyche’s side last season. They defended from the front and restricted the space for attacking players Kane, Dele Alli and Lamela by hunting them down in pairs.
This focus on defence meant Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris had a quiet time at the other end. The Frenchman did, however, suffer one of his lapses in concentration when his poor pass out of defence was almost punished by a header from Ashley Barnes.
Barnes also had a scissor-kick inside the area blocked by Kane in the first half.
