Burnley have been officially relegated from the Premier League owing to a 2-1 defeat to top-four chasing Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
Five points adrift of 17th spot with just six left to fight for, nothing but a win would have sufficed for the Clarets if they were to cling onto their dreams of safety for at least a couple of hours, and their bid started brightly thanks to a Jacob Bruun Larsen opener.
However, Pedro Porro responded before the break to leave Burnley's big-time status in tatters, and a late strike from fellow defender Micky van de Ven ensured that the Lancashire outfit would be heading straight back down to the Championship for 2024-25.
While the Clarets' latest top-flight journey has come to an extremely premature end, Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham kept their chances of Champions League qualification alive by fighting back on home soil and have realistically assured themselves of a fifth-placed finish at the worst.
The Lilywhites have cut the gap to Aston Villa in the final Champions League spot back down to four points, although a Lions victory over Liverpool on Monday would officially eliminate them from contention.
Porro rocket cancels out Bruun Larsen opener
As well as James Maddison's return to the Tottenham lineup, Postecoglou also saw fit to trial Oliver Skipp at left-back in place of Emerson Royal, while the calf injury that has ruled Richarlison out of the Copa America was also confirmed by the Spurs boss.
A clash with huge implications at both ends of the rankings unsurprisingly began in frenetic end-to-end fashion, as Guglielmo Vicario did brilliantly to save Vitinho's fifth-minute header at the back post, three moments before Arijanet Muric covered his near post well to thwart Brennan Johnson.
The fast-paced opening to the contest was not a sign of things to come, as the contest soon slowed down to little more than a snail's pace, but Vincent Kompany's men were up to the task and silenced the North London crowd in the 25th minute.
Sander Berge was the surprise instigator, impressively evading the attention of three white shirts during a surging run and releasing Bruun Larsen, who strode away from Skipp down the right and clinically finished low into the centre of the goal.
The Clarets were full value for their lead, but it took just six minutes for the game to return to square one, as Porro - who had just sent an effort hideously wide of the goal and was partially culpable for Burnley's opener - made amends with a brilliant run down the right and thumping finish into the roof of the net.
Van de Ven finish ensures Burnley's relegation
Postecoglou's men were in the ascendancy as the half drew to a close but could not find the coveted second goal, and they picked up where they left off at the start of the second 45, albeit while surviving two Wilson Odobert and Dara O'Shea inflicted scares.
After the Burnley duo both missed by inches, Muric saved the Clarets' bacon with a fabulous save to thwart Maddison in the 59th minute, but he was thanking his lucky stars in the 78th, as Johnson somehow missed a sitter from three yards out after Son Heung-min's cross to the back stick.
Pape Sarr was the next to be denied by the seemingly impenetrable Muric in the 80th minute, but Spurs' pressure would finally end up being a harbinger of doom just two moments later, as an unlikely source definitively condemned Burnley to the drop.
Fresh from deservedly being crowned Tottenham's Player of the Year, Van de Ven stayed forward to receive Maddison's pass, and thanks to Dane Scarlett luring a defender away from the edge of the Burnley box, the Dutchman had space and time to open up his body and curl a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
Tottenham can now begrudgingly do North London rivals Arsenal a huge favour by beating Manchester City in three days' time, while Burnley have eight days to mourn their Premier League status before ending a doomed campaign at home to Nottingham Forest. body check tags ::
