Chelsea
moved second and to within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool
with a commanding 4-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.
Alvaro Morata's first-half strike was followed by fine long-range efforts
from Ross Barkley and Willian after the break before Ruben Loftus-Cheek
completed his productive week with a late goal to ensure Maurizio Sarri
became the first Chelsea manager to go unbeaten in his first 10 Premier
League games.
Morata might have had a hat-trick in the opening 45 minutes, but was denied
by two excellent Joe Hart saves, while Willian also hit a post in an
eye-catching away performance by the Londoners, who were without the injured
Eden Hazard.
Player ratings
Burnley: Hart (8), Lowton (7), Taylor (6), Cork (6),
Tarkowski (6), Mee (6), Gudmundsson (7), Hendrick (6), Defour (6), Vokes
(6), Brady (6)
Subs: Barnes (6), Wood (5), Westwood (6)
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Rudiger (7), Luiz (7), Alonso (7),
Azpilicueta (7), Jorginho (7), Kante (8), Barkley (9), Pedro (6), Willian
(8), Morata (8)
Subs: Fabregas (6), Loftus-Cheek (7), Giroud (7)
Man of the match: Ross Barkley
Burnley rarely threatened after a bright opening 10 minutes which saw the
returning Robbie Brady volley just wide and they remain on nine points, just
three clear of the relegation zone.
Chelsea looked set for a tough day in the Lancashire sunshine as Burnley
snapped into tackles and pegged back their visitors, but Sarri's side warmed
to their task and after Hart had leapt to tip Morata's instinctive header
wide, Willian then bent a shot onto the post.
Moments later Chelsea were ahead, as N'Golo Kante fed Barkley, the England
midfielder's super touch releasing Morata (22) into the box and his cool
finish left Hart with no chance for his fourth goal of the season.
James Tarkowski then headed over from eight yards as Burnley sought an
immediate response, but it was Chelsea who continued to dominate despite
losing Pedro to injury on 30 minutes - the Spaniard replaced by
Loftus-Cheek.
Hart was then forced into a second superb save - charging out to deny Morata
after Jorginho's exquisite chip had beaten the offside trap - but he could
do nothing about Barkley's 25-yard strike - the midfielder driving forwards
and drilling home with his left foot on 57 minutes.
Team News
Burnley welcomed Robbie Brady back into their side for the first time since
last December. He replaced the injured Aaron Lennon in the Clarets’ only
change.
Chelsea were without the injured Eden Hazard once again as Maurizio Sarri
made eight changes to the side that beat BATE in the Europa League. Kepa,
Willian and Pedro were the only players to start both games, with Thursday’s
hat-trick hero Ruben Loftus-Cheek forced to accept a place on the bench.
Willian added a third five minutes later, cutting inside and bending a shot
past Hart into the corner, although it looked to take a nick off a
defender's knee on the way through.
And Chelsea saw the game out in style - with Hart making his third
world-class save to tip Olivier Giroud's header onto the post before
Loftus-Cheek added to his Europa League hat-trick with a bundled finish in
added time.
Opta stats
Burnley have won just two points from their last 13 home Premier League
games against the 'big six', drawing two and losing 11 since a 2-0 win over
Liverpool in August 2016.
Chelsea are unbeaten after the first 10 games of a top-flight season for
just the fifth time in their history alongside 1964-65, 1966-67, 2005-06 and
2014-15 - they went on to win the title in the two most recent occasions.
Chelsea's Ross Barkley has scored in three consecutive Premier League games
for the first time in his career and is the first Englishman to do this for
Chelsea since Frank Lampard in 2013.
Ten of Willian's 27 Premier League goals for Chelsea have come from outside
the box (37 per cent); more than any other Chelsea player since Willian made
his debut in October 2013.
After scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League on Thursday, Ruben
Loftus-Cheek scored his second Premier League goal for Chelsea in 25
appearances, 939 days since his first against Aston Villa in April 2016.
Man of the match - Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley continues to show his importance to this Chelsea side with a
goal and an assist. The Blues were excellent from front to back and both
Alvaro Morata and Willian were equally eye-catching, but Barkley's hand in
the crucial opening two goals that killed the game earns him the award.
His touch for Morata's opener was perfect and with Burnley eager to get back
into it at the start of the second half, he took control and drilled home a
brilliant second.
The managers
Sean Dyche: "On reflection, we've played two top sides the last two weeks
and they've delivered top performances, and it's very difficult when they do
that. You need them to have a quiet day and you to have a top day and I
don't think today we were a million miles away with our performance, but we
got punished four times and three of those were very good play from them."
Maurizio Sarri: "For 10 minutes it was very difficult at the beginning. Then
we started to play very well and we managed the match well, better than
other matches. I am very happy for Alvaro, for Loftus-Cheek again. I am
disappointed for Giroud because today he could have scored and he needs a
goal. But everything is okay we played very well, in full control for 80
minutes apart from the first 10."
What's next?
Burnley travel to the capital to take on West Ham at 3pm next Saturday,
while Chelsea host Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday ahead of a
Premier League London derby with Crystal Palace on Super Sunday.
Teams
Burnley Hart, Taylor, Tarkowski, Lowton, Mee (c),
Gudmundsson, Cork (Westwood 73), Brady, Defour, Hendrick (Barnes 65), Vokes
(Woods 59)
Subs Not Used Heaton, Long, Vydro, Bardsley
Booked Tarkowski, Hendrick,Brady, Gudmundsson
Goals
Chelsea Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso, Kante,
Barkley, Jorginho (Fabregas 78), Willian, Morata (Giroud 74), Pedro
(Loftus-Cheek 30)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Zappacosta, Cahill, Kovacic
Booked Morata, Willian
Goals Morata 22, Barkley 57, Willian 62, Loftus-Cheek 90+2
Attendance 21,430
Referee Craig Pawson
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