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On Saturday, Chelsea split points at Stamford Bridge against Burnley. Going by the current form of both teams, The Blues should have taken all three points on the night.
Chelsea have been in imperious form since the start of the season, developing a reputation as a difficult team to beat. However, they were tested by The Clarets on Saturday afternoon. The Blues dominated the early exchanges, and took the lead through Kai Havertz after the half-hour mark. But they were pegged back by a late goal from Burnley's Matej Vydra.
In truth, Thomas Tuchel’s side gave it their all. But it was one of those days where nothing they did seemed to work as the game ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Chelsea’s winning streak comes to an end
Before Saturday’s game, Chelsea were on a seven-game winning streak. Southampton, Brentford, Malmo, Norwich City and Newcastle United had all fallen to The Blues. However, that winning run came to an end against a stubborn Burnley side. The Clarets sat back and frustrated Chelsea for large parts of the game.
Sean Dyche’s side had just two shots on target, one of which accounted for their equaliser. It is fair to say that Chelsea were hugely unlucky not to have gotten the three points. But The Blues were not clinical up front either.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Ross Barley and Havertz had glorious chances to win the game for Chelsea, but fluffed their lines. Chelsea certainly deserved more from this game, but maybe such a result is exactly what is needed to give them a reality check.
Blues miss Romelu Lukaku’s ruthlessness
The Blues have been without Romelu Lukaku for a few weeks now and, until now, they were coping fine without the Belgian striker.
However, for the first time since his injury, Chelsea sorely missed Lukaku’s services. The 28-year-old offers the team a lot up front, and he might have converted one of the numerous chances his teammates squandered against Burnley.
Lukaku’s presence also opens up space for Chelsea’s other attackers. He’s the one player who could’ve turned this draw into a win, so it’s unfortunate he wasn’t available.
“It was a fantastic effort and fantastic performance. I'm super happy. It can happen in football that sometimes, unfortunately like today, somebody else steals some points,” Tuchel said after the game, as quoted by Chelseafc.com. “Like I said, we have been lucky in Brentford to walk away with a clean sheet. Burnley are lucky today to get the result, but it happens sometimes.”
Dropping points against Burnley shouldn’t worry The Blues too much. They are guaranteed to go into the international break sitting at the top of the Premier League table.
However, The Blues will be facing more such low-block teams in the coming weeks. So they’ll need a clinical target man like Romelu Lukaku to break such teams down.
