Blues Champs League dream still on...
VICTOR KEEPS TOP FOUR HOPES ALIVE
CHELSEA won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this year to keep alive their faint Champions League hopes.
Antonio Conte’s former champions have moved to within five points of fourth-placed Tottenham, with four games remaining.
Victor Moses (left, celebrating with team-mate Pedro) scored the clincher that gave Chelsea their first consecutive league wins since the end of December and boosted them, going into Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.
Chelsea took the lead through a Kevin
ANTONIO CONTE may be a dead man walking, but his Chelsea side are at least doing their best to ensure his reign ends with a flourish. Conte (left) is destined to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, with even potential FA Cup glory not enough to save him.
But even with his fate seemingly sealed, Conte is determined to go down fighting, his players showing they have not lost complete faith in him here, as they made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this year.
The late rally is unlikely to be enough to see the Blues snatch a Champions League place against the odds, with fourth-placed Tottenham five points ahead of them with four games left.
But there remains enough pride and professionalism in this Chelsea side to fight all the way, as a season that promised so much is ultimately destined to fall short of expectations, even if they go on to lift the FA Cup.
Olivier Giroud, who struck twice in the comeback win over Southampton after coming off the bench, started up front.
He went down under a challenge from Kevin Long after eight minutes, claiming a penalty, but ref Bobby Madley was unswayed by his protests.
The striker was causing the home defence problems, and his clever flick two minutes later sent Alvaro Morata scampering through, his goal-bound effort diverted by keeper Nick Pope.
Chelsea were deserving of their 20th-minute lead for their early pressing and probing, even though there was more than a touch of fortune about the goal.
Gary Cahill sprayed a fine long angled ball into the path of Victor Moses, who beat Stephen Ward for pace, before turning it into the six-yard box for the waiting Giroud.
But the ball did not reach the Chelsea striker. Pope came off his line to meet it, but succeeded only in palming the ball into the body of defender Long, and watching as it rebounded back into his own net.
Giroud and Morata, starting together for the first time in a
much-changed Chelsea side, linked up well throughout, never giving Burnley’s defence any respite, with the Clarets worked hard by the Blues’ superior attacking options.
Morata found himself through on goal in the 55th minute with only Pope to beat, after Matthew Lowton’s sloppy ball was cut out by N’golo Kante, who funnelled it through to his Chelsea team-mate.
Spain striker Morata produced a fine first touch to take the ball forwards and seemed destined to score, having done all the hard work, but somehow contrived to steer his effort wide of the target.
It proved a costly miss, with Burnley levelling nine minutes later, the home side benefiting from some good fortune too.
There seemed little danger when Johann Berg Gudmundsson unleashed a speculative effort, but the ball took a wicked deflection off Ashley Barnes, sending it spinning past Thibaut Courtois and into the net.
Chelsea complained that Barnes was offside, but replays showed the Clarets forward was standing in an onside position when he stuck out a leg to divert the ball.
It mattered not, as Chelsea restored their lead five minutes later, with Burnley guilty of collectively switching off having got back on level terms.
Emerson, who produced some fine deliveries from the left throughout, slung in another one, which eluded everyone, with the ball eventually finding its way to Moses.
He took a touch before drilling a low shot past Pope to put the visitors back in front for a lead they would not relinquish.