Moses halts Burnley run
Blues’ top-four hopes boosted
IT says much for Chelsea’s lame title defence that this was the first time they had won consecutive games in the Premier League since December.
As has often been the case this season, it was still not an evening without its complications.
Chelsea deserved their victory. They played the better football and went about their work with greater gusto than a Burnley team who did not always reach their recent lofty standards.
An own goal from Burnley defender Kevin Long gave Chelsea the lead in the first half and Antonio Conte’s team bounced back from a fortunate equaliser by Burnley’s Ashley Barnes shortly after the hour to win the game thanks to a low, right-foot shot from wing-back Victor Moses.
This was not, however, a good night for Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata — and how many times have we said that this season?
Paired up front in an old fashioned partnership with Olivier Giroud, this looked and felt a bit like an audition for an FA Cup semi-final place against Southampton on Sunday. If that was the case, surely Giroud will play. The Frenchman was industrious all night and showed a sure touch. Morata, on the other hand, missed a golden chance with the score at 1-0 and was then involved in a verbal exchange with Burnley fans after being replaced by Eden Hazard with 20 minutes to go.
These two met on the opening day of the season and Burnley’s victory set the tone for the campaign. Sean Dyche’s team have eased along while Chelsea have produced not so much a title defence as a surrender.
Burnley’s run of five straight wins meant victory would take them above Arsenal into sixth place and hot on Chelsea’s heels. Strange, then, that they were so out of sorts for much of the first half.
Giroud was happy to drop off the Burnley back four, turn with the ball and look to play his partner in on goal. Twice he managed it in the first 20 minutes and on one of those occasions Morata eased clear to bring a low save from Nick Pope as he shot right-footed across goal.
Chelsea went ahead when a cross from the overlapping Moses was palmed by Pope on to Long’s midriff and into the net.
It was a lead that Chelsea deserved but there was fortune about it, too. Long could not have done much about it.
Morata had the chance to kill the game within ten minutes of the second half starting.
Set free by N’Golo Kante, the Spaniard sped away impressively but with Giroud free to his left he chose to shoot but side-footed the ball wide. Had he passed, Giroud could not have missed.
Burnley levelled when Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s shot from 25 yards in the 64th minute looked to be heading wide before it struck Barnes on the heels and diverted into the far corner of the goal with Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois helpless.
However, the visitors responded almost immediately. A deep cross from the left was allowed to pass across goal to the far side and when Moses took aim with his right foot, his low shot beat Pope at the near post.
‘I saw fantastic spirit and we must continue this way,’ said Conte. ‘We played a good game against a difficult team and deserved to win.’
His counterpart Dyche said: ‘Chelsea are still a top side but I am really pleased with our growing mentality.’