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Hakim Ziyech scored Chelsea’s opener and set up their third on his first start in the Premier League to help his side to a comfortable 3-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday in a 2020-21 English Premier League game.
Ziyech’s first-half opener was added to by a powerful header from Kurt Zouma in the second half before Timo Werner also got on the scoresheet with a clinical finish into the far corner.
At the other end, newly-arrived goalkeeper Edouard Mendy extended his run of clean sheets for the Blues as Burnley failed to trouble the Senegalese international and couldn't registering a single shot on target.
The win against Burnley, along with their fourth straight clean sheet in all competitions, sees Chelsea jump to fourth in the Premier League table ahead of their midweek Champions League clash against Rennes.
At the other end of the table, Burnley sunk to last place in the Premier League table on goal difference. They are yet to secure their first win of the season, with a visit to Brighton coming up.
On that note, here are five major talking points from Chelsea’s comprehensive win at Turf Moor.
#1 Hakim Ziyech shines on his first Premier League start for Chelsea
Even though his move from Ajax to Chelsea had been finalised before the summer transfer window officially opened, his injury kept Hakim Ziyech from joining his new teammates on the pitch at the start of the new season.
However, after shaking off his injury setbacks, the Moroccan international recently made his much-awaited Blues debut and has wasted no time in showcasing his quality to the Chelsea faithful.
Fresh from opening his Chelsea account on his first start for the club in the midweek Champions League fixture against Krasnodar, Ziyech repeated the feat on his first Premier League start by opening the scoring against Burnley on Saturday.
The 27-year-old went on to add an assist to his tally in an impressive display, setting up fellow new arrival Timo Werner to score Chelsea's third before he was replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi with 15 minutes left to play.
Despite his delayed introduction to the side, Ziyech seems to have slotted seamlessly into the Chelsea forward line. He has struck up a good relationship with his fellow attackers, with whom he has linked up well while displaying his trademark range of accurate and incisive passes.
If his initial displays are anything to go by, Chelsea look to have added an extremely potent attacking weapon to their arsenal.
#2 Burnley's gameplan needs a major revamp
Under Sean Dyche in the Premier League, Burnley have established themselves as a team that is extremely well-organised and well-drilled, making them difficult opponents in the English top flight.
Their defensive approach has served them well over the years, especially at home, where they have proved themselves to be extremely tough to break down.
Unfortunately for the Clarets, their Premier League opponents have started to find ways to bypass their defence. Moreover, Burnley's focus on defending deep seems to have greatly nullified the attacking threat they possess.
As a result, Burnley find themselves at the bottom of the Premier League table after six games played, having earned a solitary point from a goalless draw against West Brom amidst five defeats. In this period, Burnley have scored just three goals, conceded 12, and are yet to score a single goal at home.
Sean Dyche needs to implement swift changes in his side’s approach if he is to prevent another relegation to the Championship this season.
#3 Chelsea show a marked improvement in defence
Despite making considerable additions to the squad over the summer, questions were being asked of Chelsea’s shaky defence at the start of the season.
A 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool and successive 3-3 draws against West Bromwich Albion and Southampton shone the spotlight on the Blues' defence, causing some concern for the club.
However, drafting in Edouard Mendy to replace the struggling Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal and adding the experience of Thiago Silva in defence seems to have been a masterstroke from Frank Lampard. Chelsea's defensive displays have undergone a miraculous transformation in the past couple of weeks.
Since the draw against Southampton, Chelsea’s new-look defence has secured four straight clean sheets - two in the league and two in the Champions League. Mendy is yet to concede in the Premier League while Silva has not only been dominant in defence but also seems to have improved the performances of Kurt Zouma too.
With a secure defence to go along with a plethora of attacking options up front, Frank Lampard will surely be looking to make a real push for silverware this season.
#4 Burnley struggling with a lack of squad depth
With the 2020-21 season compressed as it is, teams have to deal with an incessant barrage of fixtures, which is where having a large squad to call upon is extremely useful for a Premier League manager.
However, limited transfer activity and unfortunate injuries to players have adversely affected Burnley’s squad depth this season, with Sean Dyche having a limited number of options to choose from.
While his Chelsea counterpart was able to call upon an excellent mix of experienced internationals and highly-coveted youngsters in naming his playing-XI and bench, Dyche did not have a similar quality of squad at his disposal.
The Burnley boss has had to name teenagers with no Premier League experience on his bench to make up the numbers and is only a couple of injuries or suspensions away from having to dig further into Burnley’s youth teams in order to make up his Premier League matchday squads.
With his side already at the bottom of the Premier League table at this early stage and no ease-up forthcoming in the congested 2020-21 calendar, the Clarets will have to pull off something quite remarkable if they are to turn things around.
#5 Frank Lampard still figuring out his best eleven
While most Premier League managers would be quite happy to have a star-studded squad like Chelsea’s at their disposal, it does come with its own share of selection headaches.
With no shortage of talent in any department for Frank Lampard to choose from, the Chelsea boss has been seen to switch between various combinations of players and formations to find the best for his side.
The Blues have taken to the field with a back three and a back four at various points in the season, while their starting lineups have been changed fairly often as well.
For instance, in an effort to get new signing Timo Werner up and running in England, Lampard has used him through the middle as a central striker as well as on the left with Tammy Abraham playing through the middle, which was the case against Burnley.
Additionally, players returning from injuries such as Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell have given Lampard further food for thought as they stake their own claims for regular game-time.
As of now, Lampard seems to be close to finding his best formation and combination of players but does not seem to have hit upon the exact formula just yet. However, the problem of plenty is a problem that many managers would be happy to deal with, and Frank Lampard surely will too.
