The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Chelsea fail to breach Turf Moor
Leaders move 10 points clear with a 1-1 draw as dogged Burnley continue stellar form at home
PREMIER LEAGUE leaders Chelsea moved 10 points clear at the top on Sunday despite being held by Burnley in an entertaining game played amid flurries of sleet and snow. Pedro gave Chelsea an early lead from a pass by Victor Moses but the home side fought back well and equalised midway through the first half with a superb curling free kick by Robbie Brady, making his full debut. Matt Lowton and Andre Gray missed good chances as Burnley sought to maintain their impressive home record, while the defence restricted Antonio Conte’s side who could have their lead cut to eight by Manchester City on Monday.
Burnley, promoted last season, moved up one place to 12th and fully deserved a point for their spirit and quality. They have earned 29 of their 30 points this season at home.
“We must be a bit disappointed to take only one point,” Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte told Sky Sports.”we started well and kept the situation under control. We could have killed the game but it didn’t happen.”
His team dominated possession but managed only two shots on target all match, the second of which was the goal.
It came in only the sixth minute from a classic counter-attack beginning with a throw-in deep in their own half. Pedro was involved before Eden Hazard found Moses in space on the right and his cross took out four defenders, allowing Pedro to beat goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
The equaliser was believed to be the first goal Chelsea had conceded from a direct free kick in four years. Brady, a £13 million pound ($16.24 million) signing from Norwich City in January, curled his effort perfectly over the wall and into the top corner of the net from 20 metres.
Burnley could even have taken the lead when Thibaut Courtois had to save with his legs from full back Lowton. In a quieter second half striker Gray also missed a good chance, shooting weakly at the goalkeeper. The Lancashire side could not manage a first league win at home to Chelsea since 1983 but their supporters, players and manager were delighted with the performance.
“The lads were excellent and it shows what they’re about,” goalscorer Brady said. Manager Sean Dyche said the result was a reward for bravery. “The mentality is the main thing I’m pleased with,” he said.
“We wanted to do what we do. For the first 20 minutes we couldn’t get it right, but I was super-impressed with the reaction to their goal. “You’re taking on a fine side and we limited them to two efforts on target.”
Instant return
Southampton are getting an instant return on the 14 million pounds ($17.5 million) they paid Napoli for Italy striker Gabbiadini on transfer deadline day. His brace against Sunderland, including a brilliant turn and shot, means he has now scored three in two games. Sunderland and Palace remained rooted to the bottom on 19 points after Joe Allen’s sixth league goal of the season for Stoke — his best-ever haul — was enough to see off Sam Allardyce's struggling Palace side.
Fifteenth-placed Middlesbrough earned a valuable 0-0 draw to move two points clear of third-bottom Hull. Champions Leicester City face a relegation battle at Swansea City on Sunday. Mid-table West Bromwich Albion had Gareth Mcauley's last-gasp equaliser to thank for a 2-2 draw at West Ham United.
Mane brace in Liverpool win
Earlier on Saturday, Liverpool roared back into the mix for a top-four finish with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Two goals from Sadio Mane in a vibrant first half scuppered second-placed Tottenham's hopes of cutting Chelsea's lead. While Chelsea look unstoppable, the real battle is below them where only two points separate Tottenham and sixth-placed Manchester United.
Arsenal put two Premier League defeats behind them to beat Hull City 2-0 and move above Manchester City into third. United stayed sixth after beating Watford 2-0 — a victory that meant they become the first club to reach 2,000 points in the Premier League since it began in 1992. Fifth-placed Manchester City play Bournemouth on Monday when victory would leapfrog them into second.
Liverpool were without a league win in Manager Antonio Conte hailed Fabregas as “a genius” and has also compared him to Andrea Pirlo. But the Spanish midfielder has started in only five games this season.
Chelsea have dropped points only thrice since September last year. After losing 3-0 to Arsenal, they won all their games except for a 2-0 loss to Tottenham and a 1-1 draw at Liverpool last month 2017 and had been knocked out of both domestic cups during a recent slump, but rediscovered their verve to outplay a lacklustre Tottenham side whose nine-game uneaten league run came to shuddering halt.
Senegalese Mane, whose absence on African Nations Cup duty coincided with Liverpool's slump, scored in the 16th and 18th minutes and could have doubled his total.
"Today the pressure was on us but we dealt with it," manager Juergen Klopp said. "We are still around, not with Chelsea but with the rest."
Alexis Sanchez scored both goals for Arsenal at the Emirates, although his first in the 34th minute owed much to luck as the ball went into the via his hand.
“The referee apologised to us after halftime and said it was a handball,” Hull defender Andrew Robertson said. The Chilean’s second also came via a goalline handball, this time from Hull’s Sam Clucas in stoppage time, which led to a penalty and sending-off. Sanchez’s spot-kick took his tally to 17 goals in 25 league games.