4th!
They’ve stormed above Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs — Burnley are ...
BURNLEY leapt up to fourth place in the Premier League — their highest place since 1975 — after Ashley Barnes’ 89th-minute winner against Stoke City.
Barnes’ rasping effort — only their second shot on target — took Sean Dyche’s men above Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. It was Burnley’s sixth 1-0 win this season.
‘ I’m prouder than the proudest man from Proudsville,’ quipped Burnley boss Dyche. ‘I love a 1-0 — trust me, managers do. Brian Clough did and he was a genius.’
Struggling Crystal Palace beat Watford 2-1 in an amazing finish at Selhurst Park after trailing until the 89th minute. Chelsea coasted to a 3-1 win at Huddersfield to go level on points with second-placed Manchester United.
ANTONIO CONTE may have given up the Premier League race, but there is some fight left in this Chelsea team yet. Through the wind and the rain, they turned what threatened to be a very difficult night into something of a procession.
After a shock home loss to West Ham at the weekend led Conte to surrender the defence of their crown, this was more like it. They were three goals up inside 50 minutes without a recognised centre forward, and the result was never in doubt after that.
It is unlikely to have leaders Manchester City glancing nervously over their shoulders. Nor was it the kind of performance to strike fear into their Champions League opponents Barcelona. But this was the ideal response for a frustrated Conte, who went on an angry rant against the club’s critics after the game.
Missing Alvaro Morata through injury, the Italian recalled Willian and Pedro to support Eden Hazard in attack and they were simply too much for a disappointing Huddersfield. Tiemoue Bakayoko, hooked at half-time against West Ham and criticised for his performances since a £40million summer move from Monaco, went a little way towards answering his critics by scoring the first goal and completed 90 minutes for the first time in seven games.
‘Maybe I saw the best performance from Baka tonight,’ said Conte. ‘He’s adapting and I’m very happy for him.’
Willian headed the second and Pedro claimed the third, with Hazard causing more than his fair share of problems. Substitute Laurent Depoitre’s injury-time goal for Huddersfield made no difference whatsoever.
The home side contributed to their own downfall on a night when they could, and should, have made life far more uncomfortable for Chelsea.
‘We were a little bit sloppy,’ said manager David Wagner. ‘You have to be at your best in terms of focus and concentration if you want to get things out of games with top teams. When you concede the third goal just after half-time, it can be a horrible night against a team like Chelsea but we managed to stay in the game. Unfortunately we were not good enough.’
Chelsea started brightly enough in difficult conditions that only worsened as the half wore on and contributed to the first goal in the 23rd minute.
Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl slipped as he cleared the ball downfield and Victor Moses headed his wayward pass back to Hazard. The Belgian flicked the ball to Willian and he laid it into the path of Bakayoko, who had set off down the left channel.
The Frenchman accelerated into the box and as Lossl raced off his line, a lovely, clipped finish beat the keeper. It was already going in as Chris Lowe attempted an acrobatic clearance as he raced back towards his own goal, but succeeded only in touching the ball over the line with his right thigh and falling face-first into the net.
Two minutes before half-time, Cesar Azpilicueta switched play with a long pass out to the left, and Marcos Alonso took one touch before swinging a cross to the edge of the six-yard box, where Willian was unmarked to beat Lossl with a downward header.
Pedro went close to a third before the interval when Lowe’s stray pass was intercepted, but Lossl came out and spread his body to make the block.
The Spaniard wasn’t to be denied, however, and struck five minutes after the restart.
Again the cross came from Alonso, and this time Willian caused problems by tangling with Christian Schindler. The ball ran loose to Pedro, who steered it home from 15 yards. Game over.
Thibaut Courtois was finally called into action when Tom Ince pushed the ball past the Chelsea defence and raced through to meet it first.
The Belgium goalkeeper had read the danger and came off his line to block Ince’s effort with his right arm, and Andreas Christensen headed the ball away for a corner. When that was cleared by the visitors, Zanka tried his luck with a 25-yard shot that swerved over the bar.
Conte was comfortable enough to send on 17-year- old debutant Ethan Ampadu to play in central defence, and it wasn’t his fault that Huddersfield sprang into life in the final minutes.
Depoitre pulled a goal back with the last action of the game, beating Courtois with a fantastic header from Florent Hadergjonaj’s cross, but it mattered little. Chelsea were home, if not so dry.
Conte’s side had demonstrated that they can still play like champions, even though the title seems to be heading elsewhere.