In previous seasons there would have been nothing surprising about Chelsea cruising to a routine home win over opponents at the wrong end of the table. Yet while crushing limited guests is supposed to be standard fare for clubs chasing Champions League qualification, some of the fear factor has disappeared from Stamford Bridge this season and Frank Lampard has waited a long time for his side to produce such a show of authority in front of their own supporters.
This was an important victory after a series of choked attacking displays at home. Burnley were brushed aside with ease and, while Lampard was disappointed not to see more goals, there was plenty to admire about Chelsea’s forward play. Tammy Abraham, leading the line intelligently, notched his 15th goal of a productive campaign and Lampard was delighted to see Callum Hudson-Odoi, a young winger of rich promise, score for the first time in the Premier League after showing the positivity to gamble on César Azpilicueta’s cross drifting to the far post.
“It’s just what was needed in terms of performance and result,” Chelsea’s manager said. “It was so positive from minute one. We were so fast in our passing and running off the ball and the control of the game. It’s a big win for us and one we must pick up on and replicate. It’s a nice example of the standard that we set.”
Chelsea, who were without the injured Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kanté, were ruthless and creative after three consecutive home defeats in the league. Lampard’s decision to use a technically proficient midfield trio of Ross Barkley, Mason Mount and Jorginho was bold and the hosts always looked too slick on the ball for their very physical opponents.
Burnley looked to prey on the home side’s insecurities, putting numbers behind the ball and threatening from set-pieces, and their plan might have worked if they had shown more composure in both boxes during the first half. Chelsea had the look of a team playing on the edge when the game was goalless and were relieved when Jeff Hendrick’s header was ruled out for the tightest of offside calls against Ben Mee. The linesman’s flag had gone up when Mee headed on Dwight McNeil’s free-kick for Hendrick to turn in from close range and there was an anxious wait for Chelsea before a VAR review confirmed the initial decision was correct.
Lampard was full of nervous energy on the touchline. He urged his players to maintain a brisk tempo during the early stages and applauded the way Barkley and Jorginho stretched the play with quick switches to the flanks. Reece James was a dangerous outlet, charging forward from right-back. Chelsea’s positivity was rewarded when Willian scuttled into the area before tumbling over a lunge from Matthew Lowton, Burnley’s right-back. Jorginho opened the scoring in the 27th minute, sending Nick Pope the wrong way with a cool penalty.
Burnley had chances to equalise. McNeil saw a low free-kick tipped wide by Kepa Arrizabalaga and they almost scored from the resulting corner, only for Barkley to clear Mee’s header off the line. Chelsea’s defence still looked suspect in the air, though Lampard was encouraged to see Andreas Christensen take his chance on his first league start since the 3-1 defeat by Everton on 7 December. The Danish centre-back, reportedly a target for Milan, stood up well to the challenge of marking Chris Wood.
Profligacy hurt Burnley, who are now four points above the bottom three after losing seven of their last nine league games, and Sean Dyche’s side let themselves down with some poor defending. Chelsea’s second goal was a case in point. James was allowed to dig out a cross before the ball ran behind on the right, Abraham bullied James Tarkowski in the air and Pope was far too slow to react to the striker’s header.
Chelsea pulled clear at the start of the second half. Azpilicueta crossed from the left, Abraham missed the ball and Hudson-Odoi slid in to volley past Pope from close range. It was a cathartic moment for Hudson-Odoi, who suffered a ruptured achilles tendon against these opponents last season, and it summed up a restorative afternoon’s work for Lampard’s side.
