1 week ago
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In a week when domestic accidents troubled Chelsea, they had no such issues at Burnley. Without the injured Cole Palmer, who fractured a toe after colliding with a door at home, they avoided a slip here, escaping without even a fissure.
There was the occasional early threat of a bloody nose, but even not at full speed, Chelsea were able to halt Burnley’s industry. Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernández were the matchwinners but Chelsea did not make the most of dominating possession against a side that had two meek shots on target.
Burnley matched Chelsea for more than a third of the game, looking dangerous thanks to balls over the top their wingers latched on to, but Loum Tchaouna and Jaidon Anthony never made a clinical decision when they mattered. They either wanted too long on the ball or sent loose crosses to no one.
Chelsea were sloppy in the early stages, unable to keep possession. Their front three came alive when the ball reached the edge of the area, offering neat touches and clever runs, but without creating a chance of note. Moisés Caicedo’s absence from the starting XI, caused by a gruelling international break with Ecuador, caused problems in the Chelsea midfield and they struggled to settle into a rhythm.
Slow thinking was a wider problem for Chelsea as they risked giving away a penalty after Robert Sánchez seemingly took a goal kick to Trevoh Chalobah, who put his hand on the ball before restarting play. Burnley barely said a word on the matter, but with little else going on at the time, the incident at least brought some interest.
Chelsea finally found a groove and almost opened the scoring when Neto’s low cross looked destined for Jamie Gittens at the back post, only for Kyle Walker to intervene with a last-ditch tackle. The two wingers combined soon after to give the visitors the lead when Gittens’s curling cross from the left was headed home t the far post for Neto’s third goal in five league games.
It was an even half, but the goal summed up the difference between the teams in the final third. Burnley lacked the cutting edge whereas even in moments of toil, Chelsea gave off the impression they could produce a moment of quality.
Marc Cucurella was causing Burnley the most problems; the left-back was allowed to drift inside and make runs beyond Liam Delap, regularly catching out the defence. The Spaniard played his part in the goal with one such action. Burnley were unable to track the defender nor stop him receiving the ball in dangerous positions.
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Chelsea were able to find greater control in the second half, constantly putting Burnley under pressure. Where the Clarets had at least posed questions before the break, Chelsea were not required to provide any answers.
A second was far more likely than an equaliser. Neto almost doubled his tally with a fierce low drive against the base of the post and gave teammates a chance to reach the rebound, but Josh Cullen reacted quickest to clear.
Burnley worked hard in an attempt to get back into the game, but fell short when it mattered despite an overhaul in attacking personnel. Chelsea were little better, often floundering in the final third until a quick break up the right by Neto resulted in Marc Guiu setting up Fernández to confirm the result and ensure there were no more cracks for the visitors.
