Chelsea yet again failed to capitalise on results going their way as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by Burnley.
In the absence of Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea’s defence looked nervous and unorganised, especially when adopting zonal marking from set-pieces.
Twice it would be poor marking that allowed Burnley to execute their game plan to perfection, as Jeff Hendrick and Ashley Barnes both escaped their markers to score in the first half.
Credit must, however, still be given to the quality of Hendrick’s strike, the opening goal of the game; a sweetly struck volley from the edge of the area but the time and space he was afforded had striking similarities to the two goals Petr Sevcik scored for Slavia Prague in midweek.
The similarities didn’t end there, though, and when Barnes reacted first to a loose ball at the back post, Chelsea’s fans were left bemoaning another dreadful example of the Blues’ inability to keep track of runners from set pieces.
Either side of Burnley’s two strikes, though, were flashes of delightful forward play, and the two moves that saw Chelsea instantaneously overturn Hendrick’s opening goal were prime examples of the free-flowing attacking that Maurizio Sarri implemented at Napoli, as an abundance of runners looked to flood the area in support of the lone forward Gonzalo Higuain.
The veteran Argentine forward would duly benefit as he struck home Chelsea’s second, just minutes after N’Golo Kante had restored parity for the Blues.
The second half produced far fewer flashpoints as Burnley reverted to a war of attrition in their efforts to ensure top-flight safety for next season. Chelsea were hence left to rue another missed opportunity.
Take a look at our player ratings from the draw.
