Burnley didn’t read the script on Saturday as the much-anticipated goal avalanche failed to materialise at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have now failed to beat all three newly promoted clubs in west London this season.
From yet another Chelsea red card to more Joao Pedro (£7.7m) points, here are the Scout Notes from the game.
FOFANA BANNED FOR GAMEWEEK 28
Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) will sit out the Arsenal v Chelsea match next weekend after becoming the sixth Blues player to be sent off in the league this season.
Fofana’s dismissal for two bookable offences earns him a one-match ban.
Ultimately, it was another costly red card. The Blues were 1-0 up at the point of Fofana’s early exit, and not in too much danger despite the narrow scoreline and a bit of a limp attacking display.
But after Liam Rosenior’s side were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute, Burnley’s shot count went up from five to 12. One of those efforts was Zian Flemming‘s (£5.3m) injury-time equaliser.
The hosts even could have gone down to nine men late on but substitute Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.0m) got away with a last-man foul.
Chelsea have now dropped points in five of the six matches in which they’ve had a man sent off this season.
FRUSTRATION FOR PALMER, MORE JOY FOR PEDRO
As part of the tactical rejig when Fofana was dismissed, Cole Palmer (£10.6m) made way for Tosin.
It capped off a frustrating afternoon for the attacker, who was the most-bought midfielder of Gameweek 27.
Despite having a bit of a poor game, he still had his chances. There was a breakaway one-on-one in the first half in which he uncharacteristically shot tamely at Martin Dubravka (£4.0m). And but for a last-ditch Joe Worrall (£3.8m) foot in the second half, Palmer surely would have scored from 15 yards out.
Palmer also teed up Pedro for a decent opening after the break.
An underwhelming all-round display but still one that could have easily resulted in a double-digit haul.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) had a stinker of his own but without threatening a return. Giving the ball away frequently, he failed to create a chance (being off corners didn’t help) or register a single shot in the box.
Joao Pedro’s fourth-minute goal accounted for not far off half of a timid Chelsea’s xG (0.84 of 1.91).
“That [result] wasn’t on Wesley [Fofana]. That was on our performance. From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want incision. I want us to create wave after wave of attack. We were too safe in our possession.” – Liam Rosenior
Pedro has plundered 55 points in the last six Gameweeks but he now faces the same problem as his teammates – unfavourable fixtures:
We delved into Palmer’s underlying numbers against the big guns last week, and it’s worth pointing out that 15 of Pedro’s 19 returns this season have come against sides in the bottom half. That’ll be 16 in 19, if Sunderland get a point and move above Newcastle United on Sunday.
WHY JAMES WAS SUBBED OFF
Reece James (£5.6m) followed Palmer in being subbed off. His owners wouldn’t have minded that, as James banked clean sheet points before Flemming’s late leveller.
And, to top off the good news, there’s no concern about any injury.
“Reece [James] was stretching and I wanted to make sure I protected him. Pedro Neto was stretching, I needed to protect him.Â
“Reece, it was just honestly, he’s so important to us as the captain, as the world-class player that he is. Any sign of fatigue with him, I want to get him off the pitch. I need him for Arsenal. He should be absolutely fine.” – Liam Rosenior
ESTEVAO INJURY UPDATE
The Blues were unexpectedly without Estevao (£6.4m) on Saturday – and unsurprisingly, an injury was behind his omission.
“Unfortunately, yesterday in the training session, he felt awareness in his hamstring. At the moment we are scanning it to make sure it’s nothing too serious but he’s unavailable for today’s game and we will see from there.” – Liam Rosenior on Estevao
CHELSEA’S SET-PIECE WOES
One final word on Chelsea: their set-play struggles.
Bottom of the table for set-piece xG conceded (xGC SP, above), they allowed another dead-ball attempt to find the net on Saturday.
On either side of that Flemming goal were great set-piece chances for substitutes Ashley Barnes (£4.2m) – albeit just offside – and Jacob Bruun Larsen (£5.3m). So, the injury-time equaliser wasn’t a one-off.
Encouraging news for the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.1m) and Declan Rice (£7.6m), then, ahead of next Sunday’s clash at the Emirates.
“Set plays are massive in the Premier League, they’re so important. Our record this season, defending set plays, is not to the level which is required for us to achieve what we want to achieve and that’s something I need to address.
“An assignment was missed. An assignment, a marking assignment wasn’t done. Flemming, we know, is their best header of the ball. And there was a player who I won’t, I’m not here to throw players under the bus, I will always protect my players, I will deal with it in the week. There was a player we assigned that duty who marked the wrong player.” – Liam Rosenior
BIG-GAME BURNLEY?
Speaking after the recent Sunderland defeat, Scott Parker half-accused his players of only being ‘up’ for the big occasions. Recent results against the big six give some weight to that theory:
All eyes on the next few weeks, then, when Burnley avoid any of the traditional bigger teams:
Expecting to do something other than play valiant underdog can sometimes seem like an impediment for the Clarets, who served up terrible displays against Sunderland, West Ham and Brighton in between those plucky performances against the big boys. Brentford will be hoping Burnley are similarly adversely affected next weekend.
Flemming, incidentally, is now a respectable eighth among FPL forwards for minutes per goal (160.7) this season. He’s got six goals to his name, despite starting only 11 games.
Finally, deserved plaudits for James Ward-Prowse (£5.6m). His set-piece deliveries caused havoc for Chelsea late on, resulting in an assist for Flemming’s header. A first league start for the Clarets is surely imminent.
