Burnley 0-4 Chelsea: Ross Barkley stars for Blues as they brush Clarets aside

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.

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.

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.

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• 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.

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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."

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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.

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