Nine-man Chelsea lose to Burnley in opening tie
LONDON:Premier League champions Chelsea suffered an embarrassing home defeat on the first Saturday of the new season, having two men sent off as unfancied Burnley beat them 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte’s disjointed side struggled from the early stages when captain Gary Cahill was dismissed for a lunging tackle and they found themselves 3-0 down at halftime to a team who gained only seven points away from home all last season. Wales international Sam Vokes scored two of the goals and Stephen Ward the other.
New signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid came on to pull one back midway through the second half and then provided an assist for David Luiz, but in-between midfielder Cesc Fabregas was also sent off for a second yellow card.
It was a dispiriting afternoon for Conte, who won the title in his first season at the club but has complained that Chelsea have not signed enough new players while allowing several to leave.
LIVERPOOL HELD Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp protested that Watford’s stoppage-time equaliser by Manuel Britos in an entertaining 3-3 draw should have been disallowed for offside.
Britos was standing almost on the line before nudging in the loose ball after Simon Mignolet pushed it onto the bar.
“We were unlucky in the end,” Klopp said. “The equaliser was offside. It’s obvious because the linesman is on the line. He needs to see it.
“We would have had defensive areas we need to work on if we’d won 3-2. We were the better team, we should have won.”
After the opening game of the season on Friday produced seven goals and a late winner from Olivier Giroud for Arsenal, who beat Leicester City 4-3, the two teams at Vicarage Road served up more of the same entertainment for a worldwide television audience — including some poor defending.