Chelsea let a one goal lead slip at home against 19th placed Burnley, the second game in a row where they’ve dropped points from a winning position.
The game couldn’t have started much better for Chelsea. After just 4 minutes, a rapid move saw Moises Caicedo pick out Pedro Neto’s clever run with a superb through ball.
The Portuguese winger whipped a low cross in for the in form Joao Pedro, who bundled the ball in. The crowd were roaring, and everyone expected a comfortable win with some nice football along the way. But it didn’t work out that way. Everything slowed down, players stopped taking risks, and despite some good moments, the game started to drift. Bit by bit, Burney regained their belief that they could get something.
Things went from difficult to disastrous in the 72nd minute. Wesley Fofana, supposedly the experienced player in the back line, made a rash and foolish lunge for the ball and got a second yellow.
After that Chelsea were on the back foot, and while Burnley weren’t able to generate a lot of pressure, it felt inevitable that the consistently weak Blues back line would fold eventually. Manager Liam Rosenior brought on a slew of central defenders, but there was still an embarrassing vacuum of responsibility in the box
MOTM – Andrey Santos
Analysis
Liam Rosenior on the touchline. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP)
The red card swung the game around, but as Liam Rosenior and most fans have said since, that wasn’t the real problem. The problem was the lack of creativity and attacking threat from Chelsea for most of the game. It felt like they scored too early, in a way. They then had something in the bank, and they instantly lost the direct and vertical attacking threat which brought them their goal in the first place.
That’s so disappointing given the opposition, given what was at stake, and given the week of rest this team had had. Rosenior knows it’s not good enough, and has said so in his analysis of the game.
Teams
ChelseaRobert SanchezReece JamesWesley FofanaTrevoh ChalobahMalo GustoMoises CaicedoAndrey SantosCole PalmerEnzo FernandezPedro NetoJoao Pedro
SubstitutesGabriel SloninaTosin Adarabioyo (s 75′)Liam Delap (s 80′)Mamadou Sarr (s 88′)Jorrel Hato (s 80′)Josh Acheampong (s 89′)Marc GuiuRomeo LaviaAlejandro Garnacho
BurnleyMartin DubravkaKyle WalkerJoe WorrallMaxime EsteveJosh LaurentLesley UgochukwuHannibal MejbriBashir HumphreysMarcus EdwardsJaidon AnthonyZian Flemming
SubstitutesMax WeissQuilindschy HartmanJacob Bruun Larsen (s 78′)Luis FlorentinoLoum Tchaouna (s 83′)Hjalmar EkdalJames Ward-Prowse (s 57′)Silva Lucas Pires (s 46′)Ashley Barnes (s 84′)
Stats
Quote of the game
“We’ve set fire to four points from two home games.” – Liam Rosenior rages after a second bad result in a row.
