Stoke City 1-1 Burnley

Ashley Barnes' 10th goal of the season gave Burnley a draw at Stoke

Stoke City manager Paul Lambert refused to write off their Premier League survival prospects after a draw with Burnley, saying "there are still a lot of twists and turns" to come.

Ashley Barnes' sixth goal in eight games underlined the visitors' European credentials, but left Lambert's side - without a win in 11 matches - four points from a position of safety with three matches left.

Stoke had looked set for victory when Senegalese midfielder Badou Ndiaye found the bottom corner with a deflected effort in the first period.

Next weekend, they must go to Liverpool - the only team unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season - before finishing with a home game against Crystal Palace and a trip to Swansea.

Lambert said: "You never know. We have to go to Anfield and get a point. There's still a lot of twists and turns here.

"One thing you ask is to give it everything you've got. Since I've been here they have - there's been misfortune."

On Sunday, that bad luck amounted to Mame Biram Diouf spurning a glorious opportunity to double Stoke's advantage, and Lambert appeared to console the forward as he left the pitch at the end of the first half.

He said: "If we score the second with Diouf's chance, it's hard for Burnley to come back. But it was never enough. We had some big moments.

"It's important the players see I'm right behind them. The one thing about Diouf is he gives you everything."

Burnley struggled as an attacking force early on but responded after the break, with Barnes touching the ball beyond home goalkeeper Jack Butland with his thigh.

And while Stephen Ireland clipped the outside of the post for the host late on, Sean Dyche's team also created several chances to reinforce their grip on seventh in the table.

Stoke's England goalkeeper, Jack Butland made a string of saves though to prevent Jack Cork, James Tarkowski and Johann Berg Gudmundsson from scoring which limited the damage on a disappointing day.

Performances but not enough points

Good performances have not necessarily materialised into points recently for Stoke, who ran Tottenham close before losing 2-1 on 7 April, and then conceded a 90th-minute equaliser at West Ham on Monday.

That result left Lambert setting his team a target of winning three of their remaining four Premier League games.

His players initially delivered a performance that suggested they had been galvanised by their manager's call.

Midfield pair Joe Allen and Ndiaye typified a first-half performance brimming with industry and passion.

However, Diouf's failure to convert an excellent chance just before the break proved pivotal.

"It probably looked as bad from where you were sitting as it did from where I was standing," Lambert added.

"If that ball had come to him when he was more confident in the game, he'd have probably hit it first time. But I'm not going to criticise him because he's been excellent for me."

Burnley respond after slow start

Devoid of attacking thrust for much of the first half - registering just two shots on target - Burnley ramped up their efforts after the break.

"I reminded the players at half-time of how tight it was, that we just had to raise a few things," Dyche said.

"Second half, we gave a good performance; we were worthy of at least a draw."

A point was secured after a change a change in tactics and intensity, as Dyche's side shortened their game and got the ball wide, instead of knocking long balls in the direction of Barnes and Chris Wood,

Icelandic winger Gudmundsson suddenly came to the fore and the Clarets carved out a succession of opportunities before Barnes grabbed a merited equaliser.

If Gudmundsson had converted any of three efforts on goal within a 90-second spell before the final whistle, it would have brought a fourth consecutive top-flight away win for the first time since September 1961.

However, Dyche's team still look likely candidates for European football next term, for the first since 1966-67.

They are nine points clear of eighth-placed Leicester, and look set to qualify for the Europa League barring an unlikely sequence of results.

Man of the match - Joe Allen (Stoke City)

Midfielder Joe Allen was involved in the move for Stoke's goal and delivered a tireless display, covering more ground (11.96 km) than any other player.

Stoke's winless run - the key stats

• Stoke have gone 11 league games without a win (D6 L5), their joint-longest run without a victory in the Premier League, equalling a record set between April and September 2012.

• Paul Lambert has failed to win all of his five league meetings with Burnley as a manager (D3 L2). Only against Everton (eight) and Manchester United (seven) has he taken charge of more games in the top four tiers of English football without earning a victory.

• Burnley have lost only two of the past seven Premier League games in which they have conceded the first goal (W2 D3), having lost each of the seven beforehand.

• The Clarets have kept one clean sheet in 15 league games in 2018; only Brighton (none) have kept fewer in the Premier League this calendar year so far.

• Badou Ndiaye is the fourth different Senegalese player to score for Stoke City in the Premier League (also Abdoulaye Faye, Salif Diao and Mame Biram Diouf). Only Newcastle United (six) have had more.

• Indeed, Ndiaye was the ninth different player from Senegal to score a Premier League goal this season, the most number of different scorers the nation has had in any season in the competition (previously eight in 2016-17).

• Ashley Barnes has scored six goals in his past eight league games, as many as in his previous 44 appearances.

What's next?

Stoke City travel to Anfield next Saturday to face Champions League semi-finalists Liverpool (12:30 BST) while Burnley welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Turf Moor (15:00 BST) on the same day.