RAHEEM RUNS CLARETS RAGGED
CRASH & BURN:
UNWANTED by Gareth Southgate he may be, but Raheem Sterling took centre stage here as Mauricio Pochettino’s men made it three wins on the spin.
Sterling was snubbed once again when Southgate named his latest Three Lions squad on Thursday.
Call-ups have dried up for the 28-year-old since the World Cup in Qatar yet he was the architect of this stunning victory – playing a part in all four Chelsea goals.
He forced an own goal from Ameen Al-dakhil, won a penalty which Cole Palmer converted, before the highlight came from the ex-manchester City man in the 65th minute.
Racing onto a fine pass from Connor Gallagher, Sterling added a deadly finish to leave Poch roaring his delight.
It would be a stretch to say Sterling’s display was a two fingers up to Southgate – but it wouldn’t be too far wide of the mark.
Burnley led through Wilson Odobert but Chelsea gradually assumed control and substitute Nicolas Jackson added a fourth.
Vincent Kompany’s Clarets showed plenty of heart but this pasting marked a fifth successive Premier League reverse at Turf Moor this season.
Buoyed by their midweek win at Luton, the Clarets were not initially overawed.
After Sterling curled a shot wide from 20 yards, the hosts opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Lyle Foster collected possession and showed intelligence to find Odobert unmarked on the left-hand side of the penalty box.
He was given too much time and space by Marc Cucurella as he lashed a low, left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
It was a superb finish on the Frenchman’s first Premier League start and poured confidence into Kompany’s players.
Chelsea, though, purred ominously as the first half unfolded and Vitinho made a vital block at the far post to divert Enzo Fernandez’s shot.
Sterling then engineered the space to fire a low shot which James Trafford saved comfortably at his near post.
But in the 42nd minute Sterling’s clever footwork saw him conjure the space to cross low from the left and the ball flew off Al-dakhil and past Trafford.
Five minutes after the break Sterling was at it again, outpacing Vitinho on the left and drawing a foul from the Brazilian.
Palmer coolly converted from 12 yards for his first Chelsea goal.
Then came Sterling’s magic moment as he galloped onto Gallagher’s throughball and blasted left-footed into the bottom corner.
From there Chelsea did not look back and Sterling was involved again in their fourth.
He found Palmer who picked out Jackson and the striker slotted home left-footed after some fancy footwork.