Football: All Whites striker Chris Wood has goal ruled out for Burnley on his English Premier League return

Burnley's Kiwi striker Chris Wood is denied by the VAR. Photo / Getty Images

All Whites striker Chris Wood has been denied a goal on his return to the English Premier League.

Wood had a goal ruled out for offside in his Burnley side's 1-0 win over West Ham yesterday, having come off the bench in his first game back from an Achilles tendon injury.

Jay Rodriguez powered in a header off the underside of the crossbar in the 38th minute to boost Burnley's hopes of qualifying for European competition next season. The team are ninth and two points behind Sheffield United in seventh place, who could secure a spot in the Europa League.

Burnley's Kiwi striker Chris Wood is denied by the VAR. Photo / Getty Images

With four games remaining, West Ham are still involved in the relegation battle — four points clear of 18th-place Aston Villa and 19th-place Bournemouth, who have games in hand.

Elsewhere, a long season might just be catching up with Wolverhampton, but for Liverpool, the newly-crowned Premier League champions look as fresh as ever.

The race for Champions League qualification might have lost a contender after Wolves conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose 1-0 at Sheffield United.

It completed a chastening five-day span for Wolves, who also lost to Arsenal on Sunday.

They stayed in sixth place and could be six points off the top five if Manchester United win at Aston Villa this morning. Fifth place will earn a spot in next season's Champions League if second-place Manchester City — who beat Newcastle 5-0 yesterday — fail in their bid to overturn a two-year European ban.

Perhaps it's no surprise Wolves' players are starting to wane. Their season began nearly 12 months ago in the Europa League qualifiers, and manager Nuno Espirito Santo's style is to rarely rotate his team because of the trust he has in his squad.

Wolves are sure to be playing into August, too, because they are still involved in the Europa League. Should they win that competition, Espirito Santo's team could yet get into the Champions League.

Liverpool's league season is far from done despite having already clinched a first title in 30 years.

Mohamed Salah netted twice for the champions in a 3-1 win at Brighton and moved on to 19 goals for season.

Liverpool now have 92 points and needs nine more from their last four games to beat Man City's record for one season of 100.

- AP