A penalty from All Whites striker Chris Wood in the sixth minute of injury time earned Burnley a 1-1 draw with Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday (Thursday NZT), damaging the visitors’ already-slim chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Wood converted the spot kick after Wolves substitute Matt Doherty was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area.
It cancelled out a volley from Raul Jimenez from the edge of the area in the 76th minute, which looked like earning sixth-place Wolves a victory that would have lifted them to within a point of Leicester and Manchester United.
However, Wolves are now three points behind them, with a much inferior goal difference and having played an extra game.
Elsewhere on Wednesday (Thursday NZT), David Silva scored from a direct free kick for the second straight home match to lead Manchester City to a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Bournemouth.
The former Spain playmaker also set up Gabriel Jesus for the second goal in City’s first match since winning their appeal against a two-year ban from European competition.
Silva will leave City at the end of the season after a 10-year spell that will see him go down as one the club’s greatest players, if not the best.
His display against Bournemouth had other Premier League players taking to social media to praise Silva, whose curling free kick from the right edge of the penalty area in the sixth minute touched the crossbar as it went in.
“Sorry,” Leicester midfielder James Maddison wrote on Twitter after Silva scored his free kick, “but David Silva is a true Premier League great. Have so much respect for him. Admire his character and ability.
“Genius at work and will miss watching him, won’t miss playing against him whatsoever.”
City fielded a heavily rotated side in view of the FA Cup semifinal match against Arsenal on Saturday (Sunday NZT) but still just about had too much for Bournemouth, who grabbed their goal through David Brooks in the 88th minute and more than matched City in spells.
In fact, the visitors had two great chances to equalise in stoppage time through Callum Wilson and Sam Surridge.
Bournemouth remain in third-to-last place and three points adrift of safety with two matches remaining. West Ham and Watford, the teams directly above Bournemouth, have a game in hand.
Bournemouth had a second-half goal by Josh King ruled out for a narrow offside – a VAR review backed up the on-field decision – while City goalkeeper Ederson tipped a free kick from Junior Stanislas onto the post in the first half.
The visitors actually had more shots on goal than City – 14 to 8.
Jesus has now scored in three straight games for City and is thriving as the replacement for injured first-choice striker Sergio Aguero.
His improved confidence was highlighted in the way he took his goal, receiving a short pass from Silva just inside the area before cutting inside past Jack Stacey and Steve Cook and driving a low shot into the corner in the 39th minute.
It was Silva’s 10th assist of the Premier League season, the fourth time he has reached double figures for assists in a single campaign.
England captain Harry Kane scored twice to go past 200 club goals in his career and lead Tottenham to a 3-1 win over Newcastle as Jose Mourinho celebrated his first Premier League victory at St James’ Park at the eighth attempt.
Kane brought up the milestone in the 60th minute to put Tottenham ahead for the second time in the match, before his 15th league goal of the season took him past 20 in all competitions for the sixth successive campaign.
Earlier, Matt Ritchie’s piledriver in the 56th minute cancelled out Son Heung-min’s 27th-minute opener.
The victory moved Tottenham into seventh place, a point behind Wolves, to keep Mourinho’s team in the hunt for Europa League qualification. A third straight loss for mid-table Newcastle dented the Magpies’ hopes of beating the 45 points the team managed last season under Rafael Benitez.
Serge Aurier started for Tottenham, just two days after the death of his brother, Christopher, in France.
In the late game, Arsenal stunend Liverpool 2-1 to end the champions’ quest for a record-breaking points total.
Having ended the club’s 30-year title drought, Liverpool have eased up and the bid to match or overhaul Manchester City’s 100-point milestone is over.
Arsenal scored from their first two shots on target – to cancel out Sadio Mane’s opener – and Liverpool provided the assists through carelessness.
Under pressure from Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson on the edge of the penalty area, Virgil van Dijk opted for an ill-judged back-pass. Alexandre Lacazette intercepted the ball and rounded goalkeeper Alisson before tapping in Arsenal’s equaliser in the 32nd minute.
Alisson was at fault for Arsenal’s winner by clearing the ball straight to Lacazette, and Nelson applied the finish in the 44th minute.
It had initially been Arsenal’s defending that was providing gifts. Mane was left unmarked to meet Andrew Robertson’s cross and put Liverpool in front in the 20th minute.
But Liverpool have now earned just one point from their last two games after being held 1-1 by Burnley at Anfield, ending a bid to become the first team to finish a Premier League season with a perfect record at home.
This was only Liverpool’s third loss of the season but it means the Reds can only finish with 99 points by winning their remaining two matches.
The title was sealed in record time three weeks ago, with seven games to spare after a three-month pandemic-enforced break in the season.
The trophy will be presented to Liverpool players after their final home match of the season next Wednesday (Thursday NZT) against Chelsea.
With no fans allowed into Anfield due to the coronavirus, a podium will be built in the iconic Kop stand for Jordan Henderson to become the first Liverpool player since 1990 to lift a league championship trophy.
Arsenal have won the Premier League four times since then, but not since 2004. The North London club is way off the pace this season, 40 points adrift. This win only lifted Mikel Arteta’s side to ninth place, but they remain in the hunt for Europa League qualification.
A route into Europe also remains through the FA Cup with Arsenal playing defending champions Manchester City in the semifinals on Saturday (Sunday NZT).
