Burnley 1 Chelsea 2: Match verdict
ALL good things must come to an end, and so it was that Burnley’s brilliant, breathtaking winning run in the Premier League was halted in its tracks against Chelsea.
The Clarets were looking to feel the joy of six by beating the recently dethroned champions, but instead this run that has powered Burnley to the brink of Europe ended at a fabulous five.
Bookended by 2-1 home wins over their nearest challengers for a top-seven place, the winning streak has left Leicester City and Everton trailing in the Clarets’ wake.
But since the opening day win at Chelsea that lit the fire under this remarkable season it’s been a case of nearly if not quite for Burnley against the top six.
For long periods against Antonio Conte’s side they were second best, struggling for a stranglehold in the game against a Blues side determined to remind people of the traits that made them champions, even if their defence of that crown has been a disappointing one.
Having fallen behind in a tepid first half Burnley responded through a fortuitous Ashley Barnes deflection, only to see parity disappear within minutes.
Now the Clarets will turn to cheering on Chelsea. If they can beat Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday then Burnley’s place in the Europa League could be booked by the weekend, if results go their way.
While Sean Dyche had the fairly simple task of naming an unchanged side from the win over Leicester, Conte had made six changes, with one eye on the date at Wembley.
But his decision to field a twin strikeforce of Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata appeared to unsettle the Clarets in the early stages and it was the former Real Madrid man who had the first big chance on 11 minutes, latching on to a Giroud flick but seeing his angled drive saved by the legs of Nick Pope.
But Pope was out of luck when he tried to touch away Victor Moses’ cross from the byline. The wing-back had been found by Gary Cahill’s sweeping crossfield pass, and as Pope stretched to divert the cross he could only flick it on to the helpless Kevin Long, who diverted the ball into his own net.
Giroud and Morata were continuing to link up well for the visitors, with the former again finding Morata with a through ball only for Pope to make the save at point-blank range.
At the other end the Clarets were struggling to exert any consistent pressure on Chelsea’s back three, unsure whether to stick or twist when it came to pressing the Blues in possession.
Ashley Barnes was close to latching on to Matt Lowton’s low, volleyed cross, while appeals for handball against Antonio Rudiger were waved away in a half that offered a vibrant Turf Moor crowd little to cheer.
The Clarets were warming up early in the second half, but they were almost hit with a sucker punch when Chelsea broke from a corner. N’Golo Kante sent Morata away, with the Spaniard clear from the halfway line, but he side-footed wide of Pope and the goal from 12 yards.
If the Clarets had been out of luck for Chelsea’s goal, the balance was restored when they drew level. Johann Berg Gudmundsson cut in from the right - having swapped wings with Aaron Lennon - and fired in a low 25-yard shot that a diving Thibaut Courtois appeared to have covered until Ashley Barnes inadvertently directed it into the opposite corner as he tried to get out of the way.
But no sooner had the Clarets drawn level than they were back behind. Emerson’s cross was intended for Chelsea’s twin strikeforce, but it evaded both of them as well as Long and James Tarkowski and fell to Victor Moses at the back post, who took a touch before beating Pope at his near post.
Having fought their way back into the game once, a repeat looked unlikely for the Clarets, and their only opportunities of doing so saw substitute Sam Vokes head his first touch straight at Courtois before nodding a Gudmundsson cross wide.
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