CHELSEA LOSE THE PLOT!
Sarri is sent off as Burnley’s ‘anti-football’ does the job
This was the night when the tension boiled over and Maurizio sarri finally snapped.
The Chelsea manager had cut an anxious and agitated figure throughout, twitching and pacing around and drawing on his s fake cigarette before becoming g sucked into a running dispute with Burnley’s coaching staff.
he accused the visitors of f wasting time as his team struggled to find a winner, applauded d sarcastically, jabbed fingers s and fired accusations before it t erupted in the closing minutes s when Mateo Kovacic was s booked.
sarri strode out of his technical area and down the touchline to chip away at referee Kevin Friend, who reacted by y ordering the italian down the tunnel. As he left the scene, Chelsea’s first dismissal of the season, mayhem descended d and there were more scuffles at the final whistle.
Chelsea’s goalkeeping coach Massimo Nenci and fitness coach Paolo Bertelli became involved and clearly infuriated Burnley’s goalie coach Billy Mercer. Antonio Rudiger, injured and behind the bench, was also dragged in.
‘handbags, manbags, bumbags,’ said sean Dyche. ‘some kind of bags in the tunnel. i didn’t see much of it.’
The Football Association’s disciplinary chiefs will be keen to read Friend’s version of events and study the video evidence. sarri will be fined and could face a ban if his offence is aggravated in any way.
Amid the chaos, Burnley celebrated, having dug in and fought hard for the draw which took them to 40 points and all but ensures they will play Premier League football for a fourth straight season.
Chelsea grumbled about ‘antifootball’ as they squandered the opportunity to put pressure on their top four rivals after a weekend when Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United all lost.
A point is added to the total and they remain in the hunt for the Champions League but this setback was deepened by a ruptured achilles suffered by Callum hudson-Odoi in the first half.
‘it is a serious thing,’ said sarri’s assistant Gianfranco Zola, who took on post-match media responsibilities because, he explained, sarri was ‘frustrated’ by the game and his sending off. Zola was less worried about N’Golo Kante, who was forced off at half-time.
it was a breathless couple of hours at stamford Bridge, triggered by Jeff hendrick’s brilliant strike which gave Burnley the lead in the eighth minute. Dwight McNeil’s corner was deep but Cesar Azpilicueta’s header did not clear the danger. When it dropped on the edge of the area it was met by hendrick who unleashed a volley which dipped and faded as it flashed past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Burnley’s set-pieces and aerial strength caused further problems as Chelsea missed Rudiger’s presence but they were soon level.
A change of pace through mid
field by ruben Loftus-Cheek and a jinking run by Eden Hazard created the equaliser. Hazard twisted full-back matt Lowton inside and out before rolling into the path of Kante, who smashed past Tom Heaton with his left foot.
Two minutes later, they were ahead, through another terrific strike, this time from Gonzalo Higuain, who accepted the ball from Jorginho, turned neatly inside the penalty area, exchanged passes with Azpilicueta and drove a shot in off the bar. It was only his fourth Premier League goal since arriving on loan from Juventus in January, but he bustled with promise from the outset here.
Hudson-Odoi limped off before half-time by which time Burnley were level again, from another setpiece. This time it was a free-kick, angled deep into the Chelsea penalty box from wide on the right by Ashley Westwood. mee won the ball in the air, heading it back across goal where it was glanced on by Chris Wood and finished on the volley from close range by Ashley Barnes, completely unmarked for his seventh goal in 12 Premier League appearances.
Indeed his barnstorming form means he has 31 Premier League goals, one more than John Barnes (28), Harvey Barnes (one) and Giles Barnes (one) combined.
Chelsea rolled forward again. By half-time, they had registered 13 attempts but tempers frayed.
With just 31 minutes gone, Burnley keeper Heaton was booked for time-wasting.
more words were exchanged on the touchline after referee Friend waved play on when Sarri wanted a free kick for a challenge by Charlie Taylor on Pedro.
At one point, Sarri was standing in the Burnley technical area obstructing the view of Dyche’s assistant Ian Woan.
The breathless tempo of the game did not change in the second half even if the goals dried up.
Heaton saved from Higuain at one end while, at the other end, Wood missed a chance. Emerson whistled another shot wide and Heaton denied Azpilicueta.
But Burnley left with the point they came for and Chelsea were not happy about it.