"He could play in the Premier League until he's 40" - Garth Crooks heaps praise on Chelsea star after Burnley win

BBC journalist Garth Crooks has named Chelsea defender Thiago Silva in his Premier League team of the week for game week 28.

The Brazilian was key in the Blues' 4-0 win against Burnley at Turf Moor. Contrary to the scoreline, the match was a much tighter affair in the first half. The visitors could have easily gone into the half-time break trailing by a goal had it not been for Silva and Edouard Mendy's defensive heroics.

Silva was on hand to make a goal-line clearance. Praising the Brazilian for his hard work, intelligence and awareness in the game, Crooks wrote:

"Aaron Lennon had done brilliantly to get to the byline and pull the ball back for Wout Weghorst, but the Burnley centre-forward's shot was kicked off the line by Thiago Silva."

He added:

"The defender's positioning on the goalline was absolutely perfect. Not only did he save Edouard Mendy, who looked like he had been caught out of position, but he enabled Chelsea to keep a clean sheet."

Crooks praised the Blues hierarchy for bringing in Silva as a free agent in the summer of 2020, saying:

"Whoever's idea it was to bring Silva to the club is a genius. The man is 37 years of age and looks like he could play in the Premier League until he's 40."

Silva, who is contracted with the Blues till next season, has scored thrice and assisted twice in 66 games across competitions. He has won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Silva lost in the FA Cup final to Leicester City last season, and to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final a week ago.

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Chelsea rout Burnley 4-0, consolidate third place in Premier League standings

After a tense first half. Chelsea took control of the game in the second. An early goal from Reece James changed the complexion of the match.

The defender proved why he is an asset for the Blues, as he scored the opener with a delightful piece of skill. The floodgates opened for the visitors as they added two more strikes in the next eight minutes - both scored by Kai Havertz.

Christian Pulisic added a fourth in the 69th minute to give the Blues a comfortable win at Turf Moor.

It was Chelsea's third win on the bounce in the Premier League and a much-needed one from Thomas Tuchel's men. They had won three games in 11 outings in the league before their current winning run.

With Arsenal rapidly climbing up the table, the Blues will look over nervously to remain third. Mikel Arteta's men are currently five points behind the Blues, but have a game in hand.