Chelsea vs Burnley. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance39,535.
Report and free match highlights as Chelsea were twice pegged back by 10-player Burnley; Lorenz Assignon sent off in the first half, before manager Vincent Kompany ordered to the stands; Cole Palmer scored double for Chelsea; Josh Cullen and Dara O'Shea on target for visitors
Sunday 31 March 2024 09:10, UK
Ten-player Burnley rallied in impressive fashion to come from behind twice and claim a valiant 2-2 draw at careless Chelsea, who were guilty of spurning chance after chance in their quest to close in on the European places.
A chaotic five-minute period at the end of the first half landed the visitors in all sorts of trouble, as Lorenz Assignon allowed Mykhailo Mudryk to get the wrong side, before a clumsy arm on the shoulder saw the Chelsea forward go tumbling.
Referee Darren England pointed to the spot, before brandishing a second yellow to Assignon, who had already been booked for an earlier foul on Mudryk. The entire episode sparked fury from Clarets manager Vincent Kompany on the touchline, and he was duly sent to the stands.
Cole Palmer then dispatched the resulting penalty in style via a Panenka.
The game twisted and turned from that moment on, as Josh Cullen stunned Stamford Bridge in the 47th minute with a superb volley to drag struggling Burnley level. And the drama did not stop there.
Under-fire Raheem Sterling, introduced from the bench to a mixed reception from the home crowd, teed up Palmer with a deft flick in the 78th minute and he swept the ball impressively into the far corner. But Burnley, still battling with a player less, had response yet.
Three minutes after Chelsea retook the lead, Dara O'Shea rose highest to Cullen's delivery and powered a header past Djordje Petrovic, with the goalkeeper fumbling the effort, allowing it to squirm carelessly beyond him.
Sterling should have won it when he burst onto Palmer's far-post cross but inexplicably nodded wide, before substitute Jay Rodriguez headed against the crossbar in the 88th minute as Burnley threatened the unthinkable.
Chelsea's unbeaten run extends to five games in all competitions but that will be scant consolation for Mauricio Pochettino, who was forced to watch his side twice throw away a valuable lead against a side with 10 players, languishing 19th in the table.
The first opportunity had been Burnley's. A long ball up from halfway drifted over the head of Benoit Badiashile and was lashed wide by Jacob Bruun Larsen.
Next to go close was Enzo Fernandez. His shot from the edge of the box took a disarming deflection towards the top corner, before being brilliantly turned onto the crossbar by a sprawling Arijanet Muric.
It was a bright Chelsea beginning, Palmer and Conor Gallagher readily a threat when linking up with Mudryk, fresh from scoring the goal that sent Ukraine to Euro 2024. Yet Burnley were equally competitive.
Wilson Odobert drew a flying save from Petrovic, before the task was made exponentially harder by a lapse in concentration from Assignon, who entered into a simple foot race with Mudryk and lost.
In the chaos that followed, the defender was shown a second yellow card, while Kompany also saw red for his overzealous remonstrations. An impudent Palmer penalty came next, adding insult to injury as Chelsea stole the lead.
It was richly deserved, and so Burnley's equaliser shortly after the break arrived as somewhat of a surprise. Cullen played a cute one-two with Josh Brownhill and lashed an instinctive volley inside the post.
Contemplations over another frustrating afternoon began bubbling around the home stands, before Sterling diverted a devilish flick into Palmer's feet, and Chelsea's top scorer crashed it into the bottom corner.
The advantage lasted three minutes.
Burnley were almost immediately up the other end with a corner, as O'Shea ran across multiple static Blues defenders to head the ball through Petrovic's fumbled grasp.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I'm really disappointed with way we managed the second half. We didn't deal with situations.
"We are a team that, when we go forward, we create chances. But not to score with the chances we created - we didn't show capacity, energy, hunger. That's the minimum to compete in the Premier League.
"I am so upset and disappointed. It's more [points to heart and head], than in the legs. You have to be strong as a team. We are slow evolving in this area. It's not to find excuses, it's about the team.
"When we don't have the ball, it's not the same. Sorry, I'm not happy with our performance without the ball. They are very physical, we need to be strong also. We allowed them to run too much."
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer: "The changing room is really down. When they went down to 10 men, we were 1-0 up and just got too comfortable. Same story, we kill ourselves every week. It's got to improve from us as players.
"We had many chances and then that time we defended sloppy. It's very disappointing. On a personal level it's good to score two, but if you don't get the three points they count for nothing.
"I think it's our consistency all around the pitch, being alive and not switching off like we did today. It's poor, it can't happen. Especially when they go down to 10 men."
Burnley assistant manager Craig Bellamy: "Beyond proud. We all are as staff. Chelsea have a lot of quality, so clearly, when we went down to 10 men, we had to be organised. We still felt there was a possibility of getting into the game.
"The level of commitment and work-rate - the manager has said in the dressing room, he's beyond proud.
"The players had the attitude of 'we're together now' [after the red card]. Sometimes a moment like that can be really huge and hopefully this has a hugely positive impact for us for the rest of this season."
Chelsea are back at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as they welcome Manchester United to west London, kick-off at 8.15pm. They then visit Sheffield United the following Sunday, kick-off at 5.30pm.
Burnley host Wolves on Tuesday night in their next game, with kick-off at 7.45pm. They then travel to Goodison Park with a huge relegation six-pointer with Everton next Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.
