You know the weather is bad when David Luiz comes on to play in a ponytail. Burnley hosted league-leaders Chelsea at Turf Moor in the swirling wind and snow in the hope of pegging back the champions-elect as they worked to maintain their impressive home record. Even though their clean sheet record of five in six home games disapparated early on in the game through Pedro’s seventh-minute goal, the Clarets weren’t about to go down too easily.
Matic’s foul just yards from the box set the hosts up for a free kick right in front of goal. Robbie Brady cued up his shot and scored from a beautiful curling kick on his home debut since his move from Norwich City in January. As the match continued level, the Blues pushed harder and the newly promoted side dug their heels in even further. While the game started off slow, it grew into an enthralling contest between two determined sides.
As Chelsea go home with a single point from the outing, here are the five major talking points from the game:
#1 Burnley’s early mistakes
Burnley were late to arrive at their own party as they allowed Chelsea to have the run of the pitch in the opening half hour of the game. The Blues dominated possession and went fairly unchallenged for long spells while the home side sat back and allowed their opponents to dictate the terms of their engagement. Chelsea made the most of their early dominance, running at the opposition which resulted in Pedro’s goal in the seventh minute.
In fact, this was the earliest goal Burnley have conceded at home this season by 30 minutes and the league leaders looked like they were about to run away with the game. Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso went largely unchecked in the opening minutes of the game which allowed them acres of space to run into. It was this lack of man-marking that also led to Chelsea’s goal as Moses burst forward with no one to stop him as he supplied Pedro with the assist.
#2 Robbie Brady
Robbie Brady made his home debut for the Clarets on Sunday as Northern Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane watched on from the stands. It looked like he was going to put on an embarrassing display in front of the United legend when he allowed Victor Moses to run on, leaving the Nigerian unmarked. Brady almost gifted Chelsea the goal as he failed to make a good enough tackle on the wing-back as well.
However, the Northern Irish international had the opportunity to make amends as he faced Chelsea’s wall in an attempt to score from a free kick. His attempt couldn’t have been any more straight out of the textbook than it was. Aiming the ball over the wall, the shot curled into the net just far enough from Courtois’ outstretched hand to give Burnley some hope. His goal also ended Chelsea’s run of not having conceded from a free kick since March 2013 when Rickie Lambert scored.
#3 How do you solve a problem like Cesc Fabregas?
Antonio Conte himself admitted that Cesc Fabregas reminded him of Andrea Pirlo who played under him at Juventus. After words of such high praise where he said the Spaniard’s strongest suit was his tactical and technical ability, it was surprising that he left him out of the starting lineup yet again. While the Blues’ supporters were questioning the decision up and down the length of the world’s Twitter feed, the midfield pairing of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante got the green light.
Fabregas has impressed throughout the season in spite of coming on from the bench most of the times in the Premier League, making crucial assists for his side. He also scored the third goal against Arsenal last weekend which everyone so enjoyed. But clearly, it wasn’t good enough for a starting position.
However, right on cue, Conte replaced Matic with Fabregas a little after the hour mark to instant effect. The midfielder made passes that went behind Burnley and stretched them wide but it may have been a little too late. With a side like Burnley who can frustrate the opposition out of sheer determination, the addition of Fabregas’s creativity and vision could have been the deciding factor in a match that ended all square.
#4 Burnley force Conte’s hand
Chelsea have not looked back since Conte changed the side’s formation from the conventional 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3 against Arsenal in the first half of the season. However, the credit goes to Burnley’s that they forced the former Juve manager to change tactic towards the end of the match. As the second half became harder to navigate for both sides, because of the weather and either side’s determination, Conte made a formational change for the first time since September.
Pedro and Willian who have been used for interchangeable purposes all season were made to play together for the first time in the league as Conte replaced Moses with the Brazilian. Marcos Alonso who has become accustomed to playing in a slightly advanced position fell behind as a left back as Eden Hazard moved to a more central position playing slightly off of Diego Costa. However, the change of formation had very little impact on the game as Burnley saw out the draw with much aplomb
.#5 No win, no problem?
Considering the competitive nature of the Premier League, it helps to have a comfortable lead at the top and that’s exactly how it worked out for the Blues. Going into the game with a nine-point lead, a draw would not have been the worst outcome for the champions-elect especially since the majority of the teams behind them had already played barring Manchester City.
Burnley who have the third best home record this season behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were the worthy opponents they promised to be as they withstood everything that Conte and his men through at them. Sean Dyche's side was defending with six men at the back at times which eventually halted Chelsea's runaway progress, but how much real damage did it cause?
Granted Chelsea could find no way around the Clarets, but they now sit at the top of the heap by a margin of 10 points, one more than the previous weekend and you've got to wonder where it's all headed since it could be reduced to eight if City win on Monday.
Even though the Blues dominated possession and attempted 13 shots, only two were on target in comparison to four on target out of just six for Burnley. While the Blues defended well, their offence lacked the killer instinct from their home game against Arsenal last week.
