Chelsea certainly weren’t an ideal opponent for Burnley based on recent history, but the opening stages didn't suggest that. The home side started brighter and had three early sightings of goal through Loum Tchaouna and Jaidon Anthony, but all three efforts were blocked by Chelsea defenders at the final second.
The Blues were rather timid in the opening exchanges, struggling to get into their rhythm, and by the time the half-hour mark arrived, a blocked effort from Pedro Neto was the outcome of the only time they truly got near the Burnley area.
Trevoh Chalobah was the first Chelsea player to work Martin Dubravka, but even when he did manage to get an effort on target, the Slovakian stopper was able to easily gather.
Enzo Maresca’s men finally clicked into life before the break, with a last-ditch block from Kyle Walker denying Jamie Gittens a certain goal at the far post. Undeterred, Gittens played a key role just seconds later as Chelsea took the lead, floating a perfect cross to the back post for Neto to ghost in around the back and head home.
Chelsea looked far more dangerous after the break, but they were still struggling by way of creativity. Gittens did come close to doubling their advantage when his deflected effort dropped narrowly wide of the post, but with a one-goal lead, they were unlikely to be sitting comfortably.
They couldn’t have come much closer to finding that elusive second goal shortly after the hour mark when Neto crashed an effort against the post. Zian Flemming offered a brief warning sign of what Burnley are capable of when he fired over on the volley inside the area, a chance which after going begging, prompted Scott Parker to make a triple change.
Burnley’s triple substitution certainly didn’t have the desired effect as they continued to struggle to break down a dogged Chelsea rearguard. Maresca’s men were able to relax in the closing stages when they added a second, as Marc Guiu did the leg work, muscling off a defender before teeing up Enzo Fernandez to sweep home into an empty net.
Defeat heightens Burnley’s relegation fears, while for Chelsea it was the perfect warm-up to what is a busy week in which they face Barcelona and Arsenal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Andrey Santos (Chelsea)
