Burnley recorded their first win at Stamford Bridge since 1971 after Chelsea dug themselves into a 3-0 hole with a putrid first half, aided by a ridiculous red card from referee Craig Pawson, and a promising second-half comeback fell one goal short. The 2017-18 season thus starts with a 3-2 home loss. That’s certainly not ideal.
The ongoing injury and squad depth crisis took both Eden Hazard and Pedro out of contention, and had Antonio Conte reaching for youth prospect Jeremie Boga to play alongside Willian in attack. Striker Álvaro Morata, who could have also started as a left-sided attacker in a lopsided 3-4-3, was instead a bench option for starter Michy Batshuayi. Another change in the usual starting line-up was a result of right wing back Victor Moses' fateful red card and ensuing suspension from the 2-1 loss in the FA Cup final last season. The lack of depth at the wing-back position was addressed by Conte with the introduction of Antonio Rüdiger as the right-most centre back, while César Azpilicueta took duty of Moses' dominions. The youth “trend” was also followed by Conte's bench picks, though more by force rather than choice. Aside from goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero, every single option was a player at or below the age of 24, from Kyle Scott to Morata.
Without a proper creative presence in their line-up, Sean Dyche's plan for his Burnley men was clear: hitting Chelsea on the break or on set piece opportunities while letting us work with the ball. It was then no surprise that at 12 minutes of play, Chelsea had 79% possession and were looking very likely to score despite the Clarets sitting as deep as they possibly could. Willian almost got on the end of a (rare) nice Azpilicueta cross, as Chelsea pushed for the opening goal.
But all momentum changed when Pawson decided take center stage, showing red where yellow would’ve sufficed.
It may have been stupid of Cahill to go for such a tackle right in front of the referee, but there was no turning back at this point. From dominating possession and being clearly the team most likely to score, Chelsea turned into a shell of themselves for the rest of the first half and Burnley took the advantage out of this.
Yellow cards to Marcos Alonso and Cesc Fàbregas had the players being a bit more restrained in their challenges while all the pressure from our midfield and attacking players was lost. To make up for Cahill's absence, Andreas Christensen was introduced for Boga, who had practically no chance to make an impact on the game.
And then came the first impact. This would be the tone-setter for how the new-look defensive trio would fare today.
Sam Vokes Second Goal Vs Chelsea 3 - 0 pic.twitter.com/7gkwuHlFEq
— Bpl News And Goals (@PLGoalsAndNews) August 12, 2017
Matthew Lowton's pinpoint cross after being found on the right was met by a rather free Sam Vokes in the box. But even though Vokes was Burnley's top goal scorer last season, his first touch is not made from silk and he mis-hit his shot rather badly. Still, this was enough to evade David Luiz, who had turned his back, and also goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who seemed to be moving slower than molasses.
After the goal, and with the man advantage, Burnley resumed their original plan of “attack”, letting Chelsea have the ball. Unfortunately for us, Chelsea could not make anything happen as Batshuayi remained largely invisible, while Alonso and Willian could not do it by themselves. And the Burnley struck again, thanks to a once in a lifetime finish from Stephen Ward.
Ward Goal For Burnley vs Chelsea 2 - 0 pic.twitter.com/G7hXxAz3OE
— Bpl News And Goals (@PLGoalsAndNews) August 12, 2017
David Luiz took aim on 40 minutes, without troubling Heaton too much. And then disaster struck again, this time on set piece defending.
Yet again, here was another collective screw-up by the defense, from another cross from the right flank. This time Vokes was left completely unmarked to thump a header past Courtois while David Luiz and Antonio Rüdiger accosted each other. Three-nil down is nobody’s idea of a good time. Three-nil down to Burnley is even worse.
Vokes! Chelsea 0-3 Burnley pic.twitter.com/AncgEmMBQ8
— TheNotoriousMNH (@TrevorLockk) August 12, 2017
No changes were made by either side at half-time, but Chelsea clearly had a change in their attitude. Despite having only 10 men, Chelsea finally applied proper pressure on the visitors.
Alonso and Willian continued to lead the attack — Azpilicueta tried, but was often let down by his crossing, while Batshuayi remained ineffective — before Álvaro Morata was introduced just before the hour-mark. He wasted no time in showing that he’s a class above Batshuayi and that it’s been no coincidence that he’s spent his career so far at some of the finest institutions in the game, be that Real Madrid or Juventus. His movement was sharp and our hold up play was no longer absent. Chelsea finally had a player capable of spearheading the attacks that had been wasted before.
It wasn’t long before Morata got his first goal in a Chelsea shirt. He had been on the pitch just 10 minutes.
Morata' first PL goal
— AA (@AgentAzpi) August 12, 2017
pic.twitter.com/xGWTUrBxfR
It started with an all-around neat play from Willian, who got himself free from his marker with a quick burst, crossing the ball into the box for Morata to find with a great run and header. When was the last time we saw a goal like that in a Chelsea shirt? How great is it to have a striker who actually knows how to use his height and frame properly?
Morata's goal only fired up our spirits, as it should have been the case from the moment Burnley got their first score. Emboldened by the Spaniard’s first goal and then by what could have been his second has it not been ruled out for offside, Chelsea kept pushing with Alonso and Willian down the flanks, and searching for blue shirts within Burnley's box.
Teh surge seemed to have ended in the 81st minute after Fàbregas picked up his second yellow (his first was for sarcastically clapping one of the referees many poor decisions). Cesc will now miss next weekend’s Spurs game, but if Chelsea show the spirit they showed down to just 9 men, we might be fine.
David Luiz v's Burnley, world class assist from Alvaro Morata. pic.twitter.com/Ad2JP0QSjT
— Throwback Chelsea (@ThrowbackCFC) August 12, 2017
Morata was of course involved, as he was in everything good after his introduction, flicking on a great pass from Azpilicueta for David Luiz to slam home. Only two minutes and stoppage time remained, but the Bridge was rocking and Chelsea were buoyant. Chelsea could still salvage a point or three from this whole mess!
Alas, even as Charly Musonda Jr. made his debut for Christensen, it was all too late and Chelsea had to leave the pitch without a point. Not that start we had been looking for. Still, we can take solace from the fact that this is only the first game of the season, and Chelsea showed tremendous fight and effort to almost come back in the second half.
However, this game also highlights how thin the squad is currently how desperate the need for reinforcements is. Tottenham beckons on Sunday.
Poll
Chelsea’s overall performance against Burnley?
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2%
:-D
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10%
:-)
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31%
:-|
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34%
:-(
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20%
D-: