Follow live reaction from this afternoon’s Premier League fixtures, after Chelsea swept Burnley aside in the second half to consolidate their place in the top four. Burnley will look back with regret after not taking their early chances but Chelsea were too good in the second half, with the returning Reece James producing an outstanding display on his first start since his injury lay-off. The wing-back fired Chelsea in front shortly after the break, as Thomas Tuchel’s side scored three times in the space of seven minutes.
Kai Havertz added the other two, steering in an excellent header from Christian Pulisic’s cross before tapping in James’ delivery from the right. Pulisic made it four for Chelsea late on to punish Burnley, who remain in the bottom three after suffering back-to-back defeats this week.
Elsewhere, Newcastle took a huge step towards survival after edging Brighton, while Brentford claimed an important win at Norwich to all but condemn Dean Smith’s side to the drop. Philippe Coutinho inspired Aston Villa to thrash Southampton, while Crystal Palace inflicted a third straight defeat for Wolves ahead of Liverpool’s evening clash with West Ham at Anfield.
