Chelsea keep slim top-four hopes alive after Victor Moses winner sees off Burnley at Turf Moor
Chelsea retain a glimmer of hope in their pursuit of the Champions League places, but even their victories can not escape the lingering whiff of discontent.
Alvaro Morata’s hissy-fit upon being subbed just after Victor Moses 69thminute winner probably ended his chances of a Wembley appearance this weekend.
In fairness, another limp display from the striker, including a shocking miss early in the second half, probably made that inevitable.
He showed his disapproval when Antonio Conte responded, the centre-forward kicking the turf and slamming shinpads onto the ground once seated having been replaced by Eden Hazard.
Moses and Kevin Long’s first half own goal still secured the points at Turf Moor. It was an unusually sloppy defeat for the hosts after Ashley Barnes had equalised with a freakish deflection. Chelsea were robust rather than fluent - particularly in defence - although given they much-altered it was a creditable victory to retain Conte’s aspirations of a purposeful conclusion to the season, and most likely his reign.
You know it is a curious Premier League table when Sean Dyche’s stock as a manager is higher than Antonio Conte’s. Burnley presented a reminder of where Chelsea’s title defence began to go wrong.
August 12, to be precise, when Dyche’s side opened the season with a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge. There has been a feeling ever since the Italian is seeing out his time at Chelsea, so it came as no surprise his team selection had a retro feel to it – a reminder of those times when managers rested players in the league for crucial FA Cup ties rather than vice-versa.
There was an old school look about both sides’ use of four target men, too – Olivier Giroud paired with Alvaro Morata, Chris Wood with Ashley Barnes. To be fair, the Chelsea duo showed some encouraging signs of working in tandem, or at least the enthusiastic Giroud demonstrated a willingness to make it work. They probably won’t be paired again, of course, but the experiment was not without merit.
Chelsea’s was a patched up line-up, particularly as Marcus Alonso’s suspension for stamping Southampton’s Shane Long was confirmed before kick-off.
More changes followed. Given Conte is unlikely to be around whether Chelsea are in the Champions League next season or not, he can be forgiven for prioritising this weekend’s semi-final and letting his successor deal with any Premier League repercussions.
Emerson made his first start. It meant Eden Hazard, Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Andreas Christensen began on the bench. If that was no shock, Ross Barkley’s failure to get a start in the light of so many other changes was more surprising. The midfielder must hope the next coach sees what Conte has evidently missed.
For Burnley, there is pride and a little disbelief they may be peers of Chelsea in the Europa League next season.
Dyche probably would have left before the season, or even in the middle of it, had one of the wealthier clubs given him the opportunity. Instead he signed a new contract. He won’t regret being denied the dilemmas if his CV is decorated with UEFA qualification - although there must be bewilderment at how hesitant chairmen are to headhunt him. Even the Burnley board must be surprised as much as relieved they have not had to fight to keep their coach.
It is prolonging a dream season at Turf Moor. They play Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’ as the teams enter the pitch. The Burnley faithful are trying not to.
They were immediately encouraged by the intent of their side, hoping to identify a gulf between a side fighting for a prized qualification and another resigned to an unwanted consolation below the top four. Instead, the Chelsea extras showed their desire was not as compromised as the manager’s selections, Morata sent clear by Giroud’s clever flick and forcing Nick Pope into the first meaningful action on ten minutes – an easy save from a tight angle.
Conte’s side took the lead on 19 minutes, Gary Cahill’s diagonal picking out Victor Moses whose tame cross somehow bewitched Pope and Long. The keeper’s fingertip onto the chest of the retreating centre-half did the damage. Gareth Southgate’s prayer for a consistent, error free finale to the season from his England goalkeepers is yet to be answered.
Burnley began to respond when their defenders found their range and accuracy with their drivers, Matt Lowton particularly effective when testing Chelsea’s centre-halves.
More sophistication was needed to ruffle Chelsea’s back three, however. Cahill and company realised their application, courage and concentration was under most scrutiny here, particularly when the Chelsea captain took an accidental boot in the face from Ashley Barnes.
The Burnley fans remained encouraged, heartily applauding the half-time whistle despite awaiting the home team’s first shot on target.
Wood’s headed flicks to Barnes and Barnes’ headed flick to Wood maintained hope, but Morata unconvincing debut season was summed up when he was sent clear on 54 minutes. With time and space to beat Pope he picked his spot an inch wide. How Chelsea have missed Diego Costa.
Chelsea paid for Morata’s sloppiness when Burnley struck a fortuitous equaliser on 64 minutes. The visitors felt Moses was fouled in the build-up, but the ball was worked to Johann Berg Gudmundsson whose hopeful strike deflected off Barnes heel, wrong-footing Courtois.
Chelsea appealed for offside. It wasn’t.
Not surprisingly, Morata was replaced shortly after, Hazard introduced. The Spaniard did not disguise his feelings, the tantrum beginning as he made his way off and continuing on the bench.
Conte will not care. His side had already restored their lead by then, although it owed much to Burnley’s unusual loss of concentration. Moses was inexplicably free in the hitherto congested Burnley penalty area to slam past Pope on 69 minutes.
Dyche will be livid by the generous manner in which it came. His side has not missed too many chances to bloody the noses of the aristocracy this year. In truth, they rarely landed a punch here.
Full time: Burnley 1 Chelsea 2
An ultimately well-earned three points for Chelsea, the significance of which might yet be not inconsiderable. They'll need Tottenham to slip up, but they're five points behind with four to play. Fifth place, at least, should be theirs.
Alvaro Morata's glaring miss could have undone that good work, and Ashley Barnes' unwitting heel almost did, but Victor Moses gave Chelsea a morale-boosting win to take into Sunday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Their opponents, Southampton, have drawn 0-0 against Leicester tonight.
90 min +2
Burnley look to launch it. They send 9 men forward for a Pope punt upfield, but Barnes is penalised for jumping into Kante, which is met by sighs of Chelsea relief and Burnley despair.
90 min
Kante leads a Chelsea counter, but his pass drives Zappacosta too wide to capitalise further. Hazard has been a delight since coming on, toying with the nightclub bouncers of Tarkowski and Long. Four more minutes.
87 min
Zappacosta heads over after Hazard orchestrates another patient Chelsea attack. Sean Dyche rolls the dice by bringing on Nahki Wells for Aaron Lennon.
84 min
Change for Chelsea: off goes Emerson, who's been quite decent in deputising for Alonso, and on comes Davide Zappacosta.
81 min
Hazard feeds Giroud on his left foot, but Tarkowski stays tight to block for a corner. Hazard spots Pedro lurking on the edge of the box, but the sidefooted shot is blocked.
78 min
Bakayoko is gently chopped down by Kevin Long while in full flow. Chelsea use the free kick conservatively, Moses gets down the right, but his cut-back is dealt with.
76 min
Hazard tries to walk his way through a wall of claret-and-blue. Meanwhile, Morata continues to seethe on the Chelsea bench, probably directed more at himself than anything else.
72 min
Burnley swap: Chris Wood off, Sam Vokes on.
Like. For. Like.
71 min
Chelsea make their change: off goes Morata - 50% relief, 50% shame - and on comes Eden Hazard. Morata takes some flak off the home fans and responds with a harmless flail of the arm.
GOAL! Burnley 1 Chelsea 2 (Moses 69 min)
Emerson hits a shot straight at Pope! That, at least, reminded us that Emerson is still playing. Good game, this. Shortly after that, Emerson's cross evades everyone except Victor Moses, who laces it in at the near post!
67 min
That will hasten the introduction of Chelsea's main men, you would think.
GOAL! Burnley 1 (Barnes 64 min) Chelsea 1
Hello! And that's the good fortune the home side needed! Gudmundsson lets fly from 25 yards, Ashley Barnes simply stands there, the ball flicks off his heel and Courtois hasn't got an earthly. Start ruing that Morata chance, Chelsea...
64 min
Burnley are pushing up, leaving space to exploit. If Conte wants to risk one or both of Hazard or Willian - both are warming up - they'll surely make hay here.
63 min
Chelsea launch another counter, making full use of Pedro's quick feet and brain, but Moses slaps his shot from an angle straight at Pope.
61 min
Giroud goes down shrieking in agony after a clash with Tarkowski, but the referee sees nothing untoward from the already-booked Burnley defender. Giroud gets some hearty Lancashire boos for his trouble.
58 min
Pedro's turn to race into Burnley territory next, but Gudmundsson tracks him all the way. Chelsea now have a missed chance to potentially rue, no doubt about it - it's Burnley's job to make it happen.
55 min
CHANCE! Alvaro Morata, my goodness. Kante breaks up a Burnley attack, slides a perfect pass into the Spaniard's path. Morata carries the ball 40 yards, Pope stays at home...and the ball is sidefooted wide.
53 min
Cesc Fabregas looks ready to go for a little stretch down the Turf Moor touchline. Perhaps that killer ball through the middle is what Chelsea have lacked so far, but the need isn't urgent. At the other end, Cahill slips! That allows Barnes to pounce, but Cahill slides in to rescue the situation.
50 min
Chelsea patiently wait for Giroud or Morata to present themselves up front. The former makes space for a shot on the edge of the box, but it's blocked.
47 min
Both sides give the ball away cheaply in the early second-half exchanges, which does little to turn down the volume from their respective managers.
We go again...
Burnley get the second half going at Turf Moor - no changes to report for either side at the break...
Top of the shots:
Half time: Burnley 0 Chelsea 1
Good work from a 3-5-2 Chelsea there but can they kill this off and avoid some unnecessary sweating in the second half? We'll find out soon, but Burnley will come out fighting.
44 min
An ironic cheer from the home faithful as they finally witness a decision going their way, but that's a minor victory in a half that's been mostly Chelsea's.
40 min
Space opens up in front of N'Golo Kante, and he obliges by zipping forward and curling a shot over the Burnley crossbar. Chelsea ending the half stronger.
37 min
Old news, but: Bakayoko is just not good. Another of Chelsea's logical-looking signings who needs a good pre-season under his belt, I think.
33 min
Chance! Kante plays the Fabregas role, feeds Giroud, who in turn slides in Morata, but Pope is out quickly to make sure the no.9 can't flick it over him. Corner, which again is no bother for Burnley.
31 min
Half-chance for Burnley! Matt Lowton pokes a hopeful cross into the Chelsea box, but Ashley Barnes can't stretch enough to do the same and trouble Courtois. Burnley having a nice mini-spell here, though...
28 min
Giroud very much the link-man of the Chelsea front two, which makes sense given his velvet lay-offs and Morata's relative pace. Speaking of which, he's tugged down by James Tarkowski on the edge of the box - yellow card.
Pedro stands over the free kick over to the left...but he clips it wide of the near post in an attempt to catch Pope out.
23 min
Chelsea looking happy enough so far - their new system is starting to find useful pockets of space, while Burnley are yet to muster a shot at the right end.
GOAL! Burnley 0 Chelsea 1 (Long og, 20 min)
Well! Gary Cahill pings a crossfield ball for Moses to run on to. He tries to clip a cross to Giroud, but Kevin Long gets there first...to bundle the ball past his own keeper!
16 min
Chelsea work the ball in from the left, using Giroud as a capable wall to feed Pedro, but he awkwardly sidefoots a volley into Row Z.
14 min
Chelsea are making good use of Thibaut Courtois' catapult of a left foot which, although not Ederson-like, has some long-range capability. Barnes and Wood, meanwhile, continue to hare after the ball in behind the Chelsea back three.
11 min
Morata's through! He latches on to a Giroud flick, but he takes an inexplicable extra touch that turns a tight angle into an impossible one - Nick Pope gets a toe to the ball to help it on its way for a corner, which Burnley handle with ease.
8 min
Azpilicueta slides in Giroud, who is losing the footrace with Kevin Long, and tumbles over looking for a penalty. Referee Bobby Madley is truly, deeply unmoved.
7 min
First glimpse of Chelsea's Plan A: Giroud clips the ball out to Emerson on the left. His cross is a tasty-looking one, but a Burnley head glances it away.
5 min
Burnley free kick, out wide on the right. Johann Berg Gudmundsson swings it in, there's some muted appeals for a Chelsea handball, but it's hacked clear by the visitors.
4 min
Chelsea, without their A-list ball-carriers, are already happy to ping the ball long to the heads of Morata and Giroud. Burnley, meanwhile, are looking to exploit the channels to find Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood.
2 min
Burnley get the early touches of the ball on their carpet of a playing surface. It's a good 90 seconds before a Chelsea boot finally gets to a pass first.
Kick off!
We're off and running at Turf Moor, where I am obliged by accepted wisdom to say it's a perfect evening for football...despite the glorious sunshine being in at least 10,000 people's eyes. Chelsea are in their change colours of very-slightly-off-white.
Dyche's pre-match rallying cry:
"We've kept it simple for a long time, the next game is the most important one, and that's kept us focused on what's right in front of us. We've been more flexible this season; having two strikers gives you a better goal threat but you've got to have that defensive balance as well, and we've found that in the last few games"
Conte speaks:
"It's always a good opportunity when you get the chance to play - to show you deserve the chance to play more often. That's what the players need to show me. This is the first time we've had the opportunity to play with two strikers, and tonight I hope to see a good game, and a good link between Morata and Giroud"
Counting on Conte?
Antonio Conte takes charge of his 100th Chelsea game (all comps), tonight.
He’s the 3rd Chelsea manager to reach that milestone under the 15-year ownership of Roman Abramovich, after Jose Mourinho (321 over 2 spells) & Carlo Ancelotti (109) #PLpic.twitter.com/HqQ14HAAd5— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) April 19, 2018
It's a bit of a shame that Chelsea managers have such a limited lifespan. Some will argue their short-termist model has worked well enough in terms of trophies, but you sense their luck might be running out there. As they lifted the Premier League trophy almost a year ago, the plan wasn't to be England's fifth-best team by a distance.
Victor Moses speaks:
"We know what a hard game this is going to be. They gave us a tough game here last season and it's always difficult coming to Turf Moor. We have to believe."
Moses and, on the other flank, Palmieri will be key for Chelsea, seeing as they have Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata to aim at in the middle. In the absence of Willian and Hazard from the start, only Pedro will be scheming in behind.
Conte: Dyche's job "is more simple" than managing Chelsea
Antonio Conte, it seems, won't be in the Premier League next season, so the pressure's off as far as his press-conference sentiments are concerned. Ahead of this one, he claimed that Sean Dyche's job is easier than his. In fairness, Conte was happy to explain himself:
“I think he is doing an important job,” said Conte, whose side lie fifth and face a daunting task if they are to qualify for next season’s Champions League. “He is doing a great job this season. But if you start the season to fight to avoid the relegation zone it is more simple. It is more simple also if you have a small budget because you can count on a team that in the past reached qualification to play again in the league.
“It is more difficult when you have to prepare the transfer market to win something because only one team wins. The others must see the other team win.”
Expanding on why he believes Dyche has it easier, the Italian added: “It is more simple because you have to avoid the last three places at the bottom and then you can stay between 10 teams. You can play only for this target.
“Then, if you have a good base and in the previous season played very well, you can count on this. You have to fight only to avoid this.
“It is difficult if you have to play to win because only one team wins and if the other doesn’t win you are the first to speak about a failed season. If you don’t win the FA Cup, the league, the Carabao Cup, the season is a failure and, for this reason, it is more difficult to play for this target.”
Barkley's back
Having overcome his latest hamstring injury, Ross Barkley is again among the Chelsea subs tonight. It looks a proper pre-season is his target, after which Chelsea might have a bargain on their hands. As it stands, though, he's something of a curious, peripheral figure.
Team news!
TEAM NEWS: Here's your Clarets team to face @ChelseaFC at Turf Moor tonight. pic.twitter.com/mHxcka3j5g
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) April 19, 2018
Chelsea team: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill (c), Rudiger, Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Emerson, Pedro, Morata, Giroud.
Subs: Caballero, Christensen, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Barkley, Willian, Hazard. #BURCHEpic.twitter.com/IIYdnl805P— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 19, 2018
Two big strikers for Chelsea! It's like the 1990s! Meanwhile, there's a return for the much-maligned Tiemoue Bakayoko and a start - in place of the suspended Marcos Alonso - for Emerson Palmieri, signed from Roma for around £18m in January. Eden Hazard, wrapped in cotton wool, is on the bench.
Burnley are unchanged, in the sense that they'll be rock solid.
The Race for Fifth?
Few might have predicted that here, in the middle of April, Chelsea would be heading to Turf Moor with their league season effectively shelved - albeit with an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to - and with Burnley breathing down their necks to be the among the best of the rest, outside of the Champions League places.
That says as much about their latest limp title defence as it does of Sean Dyche's tight ship, which has steered itself to within touching distance of Europe despite scoring fewer goals than 14 other Premier League teams.
The first scribbles of the writing on Chelsea's wall where made all the way back on a sun-drenched opening day at Stamford Bridge, where Burnley were 3-0 up at half-time, and two men up at full-time.
Another win for them tonight - a sixth in a row, to boot - wouldn't be anywhere near as much of a shock. That, again, says it all about both managers' seasons.
