28 Oct 2018
Chelsea score four at Burnley to go second

Unbeaten Chelsea coped without Eden Hazard to move second in the Premier League by easing to victory at Burnley.

Maurizio Sarri's side were without their star Belgium forward and top goalscorer, who missed the game with a back injury.

Ross Barkley set up Alvaro Morata's 22nd-minute opener, sliding a wonderful through ball into the Spaniard's path to poke past Burnley keeper Joe Hart.

The England midfielder then scored himself, sending a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner of Hart's net just before the hour mark.

Five minutes later, he registered his second assist of the match, as he set up Willian, with the Brazilian cutting in on to his right foot and curling a shot past Hart into the same corner.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who scored a midweek hat-trick in the Europa League, added a fourth in injury time to seal the win.

Burnley, who stay in 15th, barely threatened and were reduced to chasing Chelsea's shadows for much of the game.

Chelsea are two points behind leaders Liverpool and one ahead of Manchester City, who play Tottenham on Monday night.

  • Live reaction to Chelsea's win

No Hazard, no problem

Sarri would have been looking for players to fill the goal void brought by Hazard's absence.

The exceptional Willian and Barkley more than made up for his loss, while Morata looked like a striker brimming with confidence.

"For 10 minutes it was difficult at the beginning but then we played very well," said Chelsea's head coach. "I am very happy for Alvaro Morata and Loftus-Cheek again. We played very well in full control of the match for the last 80 minutes."

Morata could easily have had a first half hat-trick. Hart tipped over an instinctive header in the 12th minute, and after his opener, the forward ran on to a Willian pass and turned Ben Mee, but dragged his shot wide of the near post with the goalkeeper to beat.

More chances came for the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker, as he controlled a ball over the top from Jorginho and tried his luck with an acrobatic effort but sent his half-volley clear of the bar. Just after the break, he glanced over with a header at the near post.

Morata jogged straight down the tunnel as he came off in the 74th minute to be replaced by France's World Cup winner Olivier Giroud, who looked as if he was on a one-man mission to break his club goal duck for the season.

Hart tipped his header on to the bar in injury time, and he then tried to guide an ambitious volley into the top corner.

Sarri said he was "disappointed" for Giroud, adding that "he needs to score".

Barkley's renaissance under Sarri continued at Turf Moor and the 24-year-old scored in his third straight league game for the club, the first Englishman to do so since Frank Lampard in February 2013.

"I am made up with how things are going, we are chipping in with the goals," said Barkley. "I believe we can stay in the title race."

Burnley gave Barkley and Willian far too much respect as the pair caused countless problems; the only blemish on the Brazilian's afternoon was receiving a yellow card in the first-half for diving.

An injury to Pedro in the 30th minute enabled Loftus-Cheek to come on and get some valuable Premier League minutes under his belt, while there was also time for Cesc Fabregas to make his first league appearance of the season.

Floodgates open for Burnley

The home side started the beginning of each half with intensity and took the game to Chelsea, but soon dropped off the pace as the visitors enjoyed almost 70% possession.

Sean Dyche's side built last season's success on their defence, but they have conceded nine goals in two games, having shipped five against Manchester City last week.

Neither Barkley nor Willian were closed down for their long-range goals, while Hart was needed to make a string of saves. Going forward, they managed just one shot on target.

Burnley continue to struggle against the 'big six' teams at home and have taken just two points from their past 13 games at Turf Moor against those sides, losing 11.

They did show plenty of fight, exemplified with James Tarkowski and Morata's running battle, which resulted in the pair getting booked just before half-time.

Dyche was at least able to give 90 minutes to two players who are fit again after long-term knee injuries, as Robbie Brady made his first appearance since December 2017 and Steven Defour also played.

"On reflection, we have played two top sides back to back in City and Chelsea, who have delivered top performances and it's hard to deal with that," said Dyche. "It was a top side doing what top sides do; they finish clinically.

"Ever since Leicester threw the form book out of the window, the superpowers have moved forwards. They have deeper squads, and it is getting more difficult to compete. If you look at the table, the only real anomaly at the moment is Manchester United."

Man of the match - Ross Barkley (Chelsea)

Stats - Sarri's record-breaking start

  • Burnley are yet to beat Chelsea at Turf Moor in a Premier League match - their last home league win over the Blues was in April 1983 in the second tier.
  • Chelsea are unbeaten after the first 10 games of a top-flight season for just the fifth time in their history alongside 1964-65, 1966-67, 2005-06 and 2014-15 - the went on to win the title in the two most recent occasions.
  • Barkley was involved in three of Chelsea's goals in this game against Burnley - only the second time in his Premier League career that he's been involved in three goals in a single match and for the first time since November 2015 ,when he was at Everton.
  • Sarri has become the first Chelsea manager to remain unbeaten in his first 10 Premier League matches in charge of the club.
  • Ten of Willian's 27 Premier League goals for Chelsea have come from outside the box (37%); more than any other Chelsea player since the Brazilian made his debut in October 2013.
  • After scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League on Thursday, Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored his second Premier League goal for Chelsea in 25 appearances, 939 days since his first against Aston Villa in April 2016.

What's next?

Chelsea host Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), before returning to league action against Crystal Palace on Sunday (16:00).

Burnley travel to West Ham on Saturday (15:00).

  • Line-ups
  • Match Stats
  • Live Text

Line-ups

Burnley

  • 20Hart
  • 2Lowton
  • 5TarkowskiBooked at 43mins
  • 6Mee
  • 3Taylor
  • 7Berg GudmundssonBooked at 64mins
  • 4CorkSubstituted forWestwoodat 73'minutes
  • 16Defour
  • 12BradyBooked at 61mins
  • 13HendrickBooked at 48minsSubstituted forBarnesat 65'minutes
  • 9VokesSubstituted forWoodat 59'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Heaton
  • 10Barnes
  • 11Wood
  • 18Westwood
  • 26Bardsley
  • 27Vydra
  • 28Long

Chelsea

  • 1Arrizabalaga
  • 28Azpilicueta
  • 2Rüdiger
  • 30David Luiz
  • 3Alonso
  • 7Kanté
  • 5JorginhoSubstituted forFàbregasat 78'minutes
  • 8Barkley
  • 11PedroSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 30'minutes
  • 29MorataBooked at 43minsSubstituted forGiroudat 74'minutes
  • 22WillianBooked at 45mins

Substitutes

  • 4Fàbregas
  • 12Loftus-Cheek
  • 13Caballero
  • 17Kovacic
  • 18Giroud
  • 21Zappacosta
  • 24Cahill
Referee:
Craig Pawson
Attendance:
21,430

Match Stats

Home TeamBurnleyAway TeamChelsea
Possession
Home30%
Away70%
Shots
Home7
Away24
Shots on Target
Home1
Away8
Corners
Home4
Away4
Fouls
Home14
Away10

Live Text

Match ends, Burnley 0, Chelsea 4.

Full Time

Second Half ends, Burnley 0, Chelsea 4.

Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Marcos Alonso.

Goal!

Goal! Burnley 0, Chelsea 4. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal following a corner.

Attempt blocked. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Attempt missed. David Luiz (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Olivier Giroud following a corner.

Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Charlie Taylor.

Attempt blocked. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marcos Alonso.

Attempt saved. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by César Azpilicueta with a cross.

Attempt missed. Willian (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ross Barkley.

Attempt missed. Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Delay in match James Tarkowski (Burnley) because of an injury.

Attempt missed. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.

David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Ashley Barnes (Burnley).

Offside, Burnley. Robbie Brady tries a through ball, but Chris Wood is caught offside.

Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Robbie Brady (Burnley).

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by David Luiz.

Substitution

Substitution, Chelsea. Cesc Fàbregas replaces Jorginho.

Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Willian.

Attempt saved. Chris Wood (Burnley) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Robbie Brady with a cross.

Substitution

Substitution, Chelsea. Olivier Giroud replaces Álvaro Morata.

Substitution

Substitution, Burnley. Ashley Westwood replaces Jack Cork because of an injury.

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Delay in match Jack Cork (Burnley) because of an injury.

Ross Barkley (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Jack Cork (Burnley).

Hand ball by Willian (Chelsea).

Offside, Burnley. Matthew Lowton tries a through ball, but Ashley Barnes is caught offside.

Hand ball by Álvaro Morata (Chelsea).

Attempt blocked. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Attempt blocked. N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Attempt blocked. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.

Substitution

Substitution, Burnley. Ashley Barnes replaces Jeff Hendrick.

Willian (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Matthew Lowton (Burnley).

Booking

Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

goal