Burnley cave in to Chelsea
● Chelsea may be up for sale but Thomas Tuchel showed no signs of being distracted as Kai Havertz scored twice in a comfortable 4-0 victory at the Premier League’s relegation-threatened Burnley yesterday.
Burnley wasted a series of first half opportunities but then collapsed with shambolic defending after Reece James opened the scoring in the 47th minute.
Chelsea struck three times in the space of eight minutes, prompting the normally hardy Burnley fans to head for the exits well before the end.
There were reminders of Chelsea’s new situation in the singing of owner Roman Abramovich’s name throughout the game — although the chanting in support of the Russian during a minute’s applause in solidarity with Ukraine drew an angry reaction from Burnley supporters. Chelsea made a flat start to the game and had Brazilian Thiago Silva to thank for clearing Wout Weghorst’s firsttime shot off the line. Nathan Collins then headed over from a free-kick as the home crowd began to sense that an upset from the 18th-placed side could be on the cards.
But that sense of anticipation soon turned to frustration with Dwight McNeil missing a glorious chance after Edouard Mendy failed to connect with a punch clear. Tuchel had plenty to resolve at the break and judging by the upturn in his team’s performance, he did just that. James, starting his first game since December, opened the scoring two minutes after the interval, drilling a shot into the far, bottom corner after turning Dwight McNeil inside out. Havertz then pulled away from his marker Connor Roberts to head home a nicely floated cross from Christian Pulisic to make it 2-0.
The German then had another simple finish, converting a James cross from close range, and Pulisic had the easiest of tasks scoring after Burnley defender James Tarkowski diverted a Saul Niguez cross into his path.
Other results: Leicester 1-0 Leeds; Aston Villa 4-0 Southampton; Newcastle 2-1 Brighton; Norwich 1-3 Brentford; Wolves 0-2 Crystal Palace; Liverpool 1 - 0 West Ham.