Unbeaten Chelsea inflicted a second successive Premier League hammering on Burnley as they romped to a comprehensive 4-0 victory at Turf Moor this afternoon.
Alvaro Morata gave the Blues a 22nd-minute lead following a sublime through-ball from Ross Barkley, who added a goal to his assist with a 25-yard strike in the second half.
Even without the injured Eden Hazard, the visitors were fluent and stylish in attack and put the game beyond Burnley on 63 minutes when Willian found the bottom corner.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek added to his midweek hat-trick with a stoppage-time fourth past Joe Hart, who has now conceded nine goals in Burnley's last two league outings.
Relive how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates.
Chelsea rescued their unbeaten start to the season in dramatic fashion last weekend but have only won one of their last four Premier League matches. Today they travel to a Burnley side who will be determined to put up more of a fight than when they were thrashed by Manchester City last weekend.
While the show must go on, football is still reeling from the shocking events of yesterday at the King Power Stadium, and also the news about the ill health of former Chelsea player and manager Glenn Hoddle. You can follow the latest news from Leicester here. Now, onto the team news from Turf Moor...
BURNLEY: Hart; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Cork, Hendrick, Defour, Brady; Vokes
Subs: Heaton, Bardsley, Long, Westwood, Barnes, Wood, Vydra
Subs: Heaton, Bardsley, Long, Westwood, Barnes, Wood, Vydra
CHELSEA: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso; Jorginho, Kante, Barkley; Willian, Pedro, Morata
Subs: Caballero, Cahill, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Giroud
Subs: Caballero, Cahill, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Giroud
A huge blow to Chelsea as Eden Hazard is ruled out with the back injury that he has been nursing all week. The Belgian has been the standout player in the Premier League so far this season, scoring seven goals, but the Blues must prove that they can cope without him today as Pedro comes in.
The other change from Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Manchester United last weekend sees stoppage-time hero Ross Barkley replace Matteo Kovacic in midfield, meaning that Ruben Loftus-Cheek still awaits a Premier League start this season despite his Europa League hat-trick against BATE Borisov.
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With Hazard missing, there is an extra goalscoring burden on struggling striker Alvaro Morata, who seems to have regained his Premier League place from Olivier Giroud despite his lack of recent goals. Morata scored against Burnley on his Chelsea debut last August but hasn't had it easy since.
Maurizio Sarri has the luxury of naming an unchanged back five for the 10th Premier League game in succession, and all four defenders should be refreshed after being rested on Thursday. Pedro and Willian, who both came off before the hour mark, and goalkeeper Kepa are the only Blues to pull double duty.
While there is a headline omission from the Chelsea squad, there is a headline inclusion in the Burnley lineup. Robbie Brady is back for his first appearance in over 10 months after a long layoff with a knee injury, and he replaces Aaron Lennon, who is missing today through illness, on the wing.
That is the only alteration that Sean Dyche makes from last weekend's 5-0 rout at the hands of Manchester City. The Burnley manager is not one to panic and make wholesale changes although he does not have too much choice in defence with summer signing Ben Gibson still in the treatment room.
Sam Vokes, who signed a new contract at Turf Moor this week, gets the nod up front as the lone striker, which gives Dyche plenty of attacking options on the bench in the shape of Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood and Matej Vydra. The Welshman scored twice in Burnley's 3-2 win at Chelsea last season.
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With Brady, Steven Defour and Johan Berg Gudmundsson, who has four Premier League assists this season, second only to Benjamin Mendy, in midfield, the Clarets have enough guile and creativity in midfield to supply Vokes with chances. It has been the other end which has been a problem of late...
Last Saturday's 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City was the second time this season that Burnley had conceded four or more in a Premier League game, which is as many times as they did that during the whole of the last campaign when they had the sixth best defensive record in the division.
The Clarets have let in 17 goals in nine league games this season, whereas it took them 20 to concede as many in 2017-18. The defensive personnel is largely the same as last term so Dyche will be puzzled as to why the collective has not been as tight as it once was; they have allowed the most shots in the division on their goal (184).
One change to the Burnley back line has been Joe Hart coming in for the injured Nick Pope, but the former England No.1 cannot be accused of being culpable for the amount of goals conceded. Hart has actually made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the division so far this season with 40.
Burnley had collected seven points from three matches prior to their hammering at the Etihad, which was one more than they had accrued from their previous 11 league matches and alleviated early-season relegation fears. Their slow start could be attributed to the early European congestion but the Clarets will expect to stay clear of danger.
The 3-2 victory at Chelsea on the opening day of last season is Burnley's only triumph in their last 25 Premier League matches against the established top-six teams. They only picked up one point from a possible 18 when the big boys visited Turf Moor last season; a draw with the celebrated champions.
Another bad omen for Burnley is that have been beaten in six of their last seven home Premier League games played on Sunday, losing each of the last four. Perhaps they should count themselves lucky that they didn't qualify for the Europa League group stage after all, considering that schedule!
There has been a suggestion that Chelsea will be too over reliant on the absent Hazard to uphold a title pursuit, but Sean Dyche has dismissed that suggestion, telling BBC Sport:: "The real big sides don't just have one (star player), trust me. Chelsea are a fine outfit - you saw that against BATE Borisov; they made eight changes and you saw what happened, still a very, very strong outfit."
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That being said, Maurizio Sarri may be concerned at the lack of goals from his recognised strikers. Giroud is without a club goal since May and Morata only has four in his last 21 Blues outings. No team has won the Premier League title unless a striker has scored 20 goals since Manchester United in 2008-09.
Loftus-Cheek's midweek treble means that he has as many goals as Giroud and Morata combined this season. There has been some talk this week that the England international could be converted to a striker, which would solve his lack of game time, but I'm sure Sarri would rather find a solution in January.
Thankfully for Chelsea, a few players have been chipping in with goals to take the burden off Hazard. Barkley has reignited his career for club and country, and a goal today would make him the first Englishman to score in three consecutive top-flight games for Chelsea since Frank Lampard in February 2013.
Nine of Chelsea's 20 league goals this season have been scored in the final 15 minutes of matches, and none later than Barkley's 96th-minute equaliser at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Those goals have earned them five points which is the difference between third and seventh in the table.
This is only the fifth time that Chelsea have made it through their opening nine matches of a top-flight campaign without defeat. On two of those occasions, they went on to win the title, under Jose Mourinho in 2005-06 and 2014-15. He has won the league three times as Chelsea manager, did you know? Three! Three; THREE!
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Sarri can achieve something today that Mourinho, nor indeed any of his other predecessors in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, never could, and become the first Chelsea boss to remain unbeaten in his first 10 Premier League matches in charge.
Not only are the Blues unbeaten, they have only trailed for a total of 38 minutes so far this season - last weekend against Manchester United and for 21 minutes against Cardiff in September. However, they are the only team not to have been behind for a single second in an away match.
The tobacco-chewing former banker has wasted no time implementing his own brand of football at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea have taken to 'Sarri-ball' like a duck to water. They boast four of the top 10 players with the most Premier League passes this season, with Jorginho topping the charts with 927 - 102 more than anybody else.
Just over five minutes until kickoff at Turf Moor, which is one of three Premier League games you can follow live with Sports Mole today. Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal is also a 1.30pm kickoff, and my colleague Darren Plant has all things covered at Selhurst Park.
Interestingly, there is no Victor Moses or Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench today which means Sarri does not have a winger in reserve. Is there really the need for three central midfielders among the subs?
Willian starting nine games in a row, no wingers on the bench today. #CFC #BURCHE — Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) October 28, 2018
PREDICTION: Any team would miss a player of Hazard's calibre, but this Chelsea team have been particularly dependent on his goals this season, and this match has become a lot harder with his absence. Dyche will want a response after a 5-0 defeat and I think he'll get it in a 1-1 draw.
KICKOFF: On Burnley's last home game before rememberance day, the crowd impeccably respect a minute's silence before referee Craig Pawson blows the whistle to get the game underway, with Chelsea in their changed yellow strip.
The hosts have made a bright start here with Gudmunsson making a breakaway down the right. He is held up by Jorginho and the cross is cut out by Rudiger, with Vokes waiting behind for a header.
Brady has immediately reclaimed set-piece duty and drills a free-kick deep to the back post. Marcos Alonso is beaten to the first ball by Vokes but his looping header is well cleared by David Luiz.
A criticism of Morata is that he cannot cope with the physicality of the Premier League, and he is going to be in for a physical battle today. Tarkowski lets him know with a thumping foul from behind.
Dyche will be really pleased with how his Burnley side have started. They have made it uncomfortable for Chelsea's ball-players with a high tempo and are getting some joy down both flanks.
Chelsea have been able to keep hold of the ball a little better in the last couple of minutes but there is no penetration thus far. They may have to be even more patient in their build-up play today without the X-factor of Hazard.
SAVE! Excellent reactions from Hart, as he pushes Morata's header over the crossbar. Willian had teed the ball up for Barkley, whose left-footed shot was on its way horribly wide before Morata intelligently diverted it towards goal. Hart had to change direction quickly to make his first save of the afternoon.
Jorginho is starting to see a lot more of the ball now and keep things ticking for Chelsea. Burnley are determined not to be penned back though so they are coming out and meeting the Chelsea midfielders high up the pitch. An intriguing battle thus far and quite evenly poised at the 15-minute mark.
CLOSE! Brady would love to mark his return with a goal, and he comes within a few yards here. Kepa tries to climb above three bodies to make a clearing punch, and doesn't get much of it. The loose ball falls to Brady who cuts across a left-footed shot really nicely but just wide of the bottom corner.
Jorginho spots the run of Morata but Tarkowski follows the Spaniard all the way and cuts it out. Good defending from the Burnley centre-back, but the Clarets got lucky a moment earlier when Willian pinched the ball on the edge of the box and got a shot away, straight into Hart's midrift.
Gudmundsson has the legs on Alonso and manages to latch onto Lowton's through-ball. The cross from the Icelander is too close to the goalkeeper but there is confusion at the near post and Luiz and Kepa only just manage to clear it safely between them.
OFF THE POST! Morata spins away from Tarkowski skilfully and releases Willian with a beautiful pass inside Lowton, who is caught too narrow. The Brazilian travels inside and bends a shot around Hart but against the base of the far post.
GOAL! BURNLEY 0-1 CHELSEA (ALVARO MORATA)
Chelsea knocked on the door a minute or so ago and now have the lead through Morata. It is a well-worked move through the Blues midfield, with Barkley timing his through-ball perfectly for the Spaniard to run onto and poke around Hart. That will do his confidence the world of good.
CHANCE! The hosts have a chance to draw level immediately but Tarkowski heads over from a corner.
SHOT! Willian is being afforded far too much space on the Chelsea left, and is again allowed to drift inside and get a shot away. Tarkowski gets a block in, which went behind for a corner but could have gone anywhere.
Burnley will have been pretty happy with the opening 20 minutes but Chelsea have gone through the gears either side of the goal. They need to be wary of the next goal otherwise it could get messy for them again.
SUBSTITUTION: Hazard is on Chelsea's injury list and he is now being joined by his replacement today, with Pedro limping off holding his groin. By luck or by crook, Loftus-Cheek does now have his Premier League opportunity as he comes on with an hour still on the clock.
The Clarets are trying to find their feet again in this match. The early success that they were getting out wide has been stifled by Chelsea's full-backs taking on a more restrained role than usual; Alonso especially. The Spaniard hasn't got to the byline once yet as he tries to keep Gudmundsson in check.
Morata now has four goals for the season in all competitions this season, which is as many as Romelu Lukaku; another out-of-sorts striker who will get the chance to end his drought against Everton this afternoon.
No change in shape for Chelsea, with Loftus-Cheek having gone to play on the left of the front three. It is not really his position but he will take the minutes wherever he can get them. Willian has gone to the right.
CLOSE! It could and perhaps should be two for Chelsea, who overload Burnley down the left. Alonso feeds the ball into the feet of Morata who does the first bit brilliantly, turning inside Tarkowski, but can't apply the finishing touch as he knocks his shot wide from only eight yards out.
SAVE! Lowton plays Morata onside and the Spaniard is able to bring Jorginho's lofted pass under control. He lets the ball drop and fires a powerful volley at goal from 12 yards out, only for Hart to stretch himself to make an excellent block from point-blank range.
YELLOW CARD! Tarkowski make a perfectly-timed slide challenge on Morata inside the box, and then he and Lowton stand over the Spaniard screaming at him for diving, which is ridiculous as the Chelsea striker hadn't even appealed for a penalty. Both Morata and Tarkowski are booked in the scuffle that followed.
YELLOW CARD! This time Burnley do have right to feel aggreived with some Chelsea simulation, and Willian enters the book for taking a dive and trying to buy a penalty from Craig Pawson who gets the call spot on.
HALF TIME: BURNLEY 0-1 CHELSEA
The whistle blows for half time, just as tempers were threatening to boil over at Turf Moor. Burnley started with promise, but Chelsea grabbed control of proceedings after opening the scoring and really could have been further ahead at the break. As it stands, Chelsea are going second in the table.
Morata has had as good a half as he ever might have had in a Chelsea shirt. Mee and Tarkowski are really struggling with the Spaniard's movement, and he took his goal really well, albeit made quite easy for him by a sublime Barkley assist. He'd have had a second too if not for a super save from Hart.
Whatever Alvaro Morata had for breakfast this morning, he should keep eating. #CFC #BURCHE
— The Pride of London (@PrideOLondon) October 28, 2018
LATEST: It is also half time at Selhurst Park, where Crystal Palace have scored their first home Premier League goal of the season to take the lead against Arsenal; Luka Milivojevic from the penalty spot.
BENCH WATCH: It is difficult to see what Dyche can do immediately to change the flow of the game. He won't want to sacrifice the midfield battle by going two up top this early, so will hope that his side can at least retain this one-goal deficit heading into the final 20 minutes when Wood, Barnes and Vydra will all become options.
Chelsea have already been forced to call upon one of their substitutes, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing the injured Pedro in the first half. The England midfielder is yet to make an impact on the game but should come into it more in the second half when it becomes more stretched.
KICKOFF: We are back underway at Turf Moor. Burnley will hope to have regrouped during the break and start the second half as they did the first.
YELLOW CARD! Hendrick goes clattering into Rudiger and becomes the fourth player cautioned in five minutes either side of the interval. This might be a deliberate ploy from Burnley to make it a gritty game.
A ball gets stuck on top of one of the Turf Moor stands from a wild clearance. A ball boy finds a replacement for Lowton, and the lost ball nearly lands on the Burnley full-back's head a moment later!
LATEST: Arsenal have been second-half specialists this season and they have drawn level with Palace seven minutes after the restart, Granit Xhaka finding the top corner with a wicked free kick.
Gudmundsson embarks on a dribble inside from the right but runs into a bit of trouble. He spreads the play out to Brady on the opposite flank, but his shot on his weaker right foot is high and wide.
LATEST: The Gunners have turned it around at Selhurst Park with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notching Arsenal's second with the aid of the goal-line technology - his fifth goal in three league games.
GOAL! BURNLEY 0-2 CHELSEA (ROSS BARKLEY)
We now have a second-half goal at Turf Moor too, with Barkley giving the Blues some daylight. Kante shifts the ball infield to the midfielder, who has Willian to his left but decides to go it alone and drills a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards out. A goal and an assist for Barkley now.
SUBSTITUTION: Dyche quickly reacts to the second Chelsea goal by calling for Chris Wood, who scored four Premier League goals as a substitute last season, second only to Olivier Giroud. It is a straight swap for Sam Vokes though, rather than a change of shape and two up top.
YELLOW CARD! Loftus-Cheek shows his ball-carrying skills for the first time today and it takes a cynical trip from Brady to bring him down.
GOAL! BURNLEY 0-3 CHELSEA (WILLIAN)
Chelsea are out of sight now. Willian had fired a couple of warning shots Burnley's way in the first half, and the Clarets ignored his threat drifting in from the right. The Brazilian's shot takes a little nick on its way through, giving Hart absolutely no chance as it nestled into the bottom corner.
SUBSTITUTION: Dyche now does go two up top, bringing on Barnes for Hendrick, but a comeback is surely beyond them.
With his goal, Barkley becomes the first Englishman to score in three successive Premier League games for Chelsea since Frank Lampard in 2013. He truly looks back to the days of his Everton best.
With both Barnes and Wood on, Burnley have the option of going more direct which could make them an attacking threat again. They haven't looked like scoring since the opening 20 minutes.
Concern for Burnley here with Jack Cork down, head in hands, after injuring himself needlessly flying into a challenge with Barkley. The midfielder has started every Premier League game since rejoining the Clarets from Swansea City last summer but might not be finishing this one.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Indeed, Cork is done for the afternoon - Burnley will hope it is not any more serious than that - as Ashley Westwood comes on. Chelsea also make a swap as Olivier Giroud replaces Morata, who can be pleased with his day's work.
Taylor knocks in a cross and Wood wins the header, but cannot generate any power and it is simple for Kepa.
CLOSE! Giroud could really do with a goal, and he won't get much closer than this without scoring. Willian is released in behind, and the Brazilain holds up the ball before laying it off for Giroud, whose left-footed shot has a fraction too much bend on it and finishes the wrong side of the post.
Kepa takes a chance by dallying on the ball in his own box, and Barnes slides in fairly on the Chelsea goalkeeper, but does catch him on the follow through. Kepa needs some medical attention although that may have been only to serve as a distraction for his potential embarrassment.
Burnley have missed the speed of Lennon this afternoon. They have been a bit paceless going forward.
LATEST: There has been a fourth goal at Selhurst Park where Palace have drawn level at 2-2. Again it is a penalty, and again Milivojevic has stuck it away. Arsenal's winning run could end at 11...
Willian has been very sharp for the Blues this afternoon, which is a good sign considering that Hazard and now Pedro are out injured. How long Chelsea will be without the Belgian, I'm not too sure.
SHOT! Kante resists the temptation to have a go himself and instead shifts on the chance to Loftus-Cheek, who has to take on the shot quickly amidst pressure from Mee and sends it into the side-netting.
SHOT! There have been few signs of a Burnley consolation but Gudmundsson is not too far away here with a 25-yard curler.
SHOT! Willian lines up a second and has the beating of Hart but Taylor is well positioned to make a block in front of his own goal.
SAVE! He may have conceded eight in his last two matches, but that is no disgrace on Joe Hart who has just made his second outstanding save of the day. A cross is whipped perfectly onto the head of Giroud who thumps his header at goal, only for the Burnley goalkeeper to top it onto the crossbar.
GOAL! BURNLEY 0-4 CHELSEA (RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK)
GOAL! Loftus-Cheek caps off a fine week for both him and Chelsea with a stoppage-time fourth, burying a shot beyond Hart after Alonso had worked the ball to him from a corner. The Blues are flying. Who needs Eden Hazard?
FULL TIME: BURNLEY 0-4 CHELSEA
No Hazard; no problem for Chelsea! What a way to answer questions of their dependability on the Belgian by dismissing of Burnley so emphatically, with four different players on the scoresheet. Morata, Barkley and Willian were all excellent. It is successive hidings for the Clarets who don't look the same team as last year.
That's it from our coverage from Turf Moor. You can read our match report of the action here to kill some time before the kickoff at Old Trafford as Manchester United entertain Everton. Or you can get straight back into the live football with our coverage of El Clasico. Thanks for joining me today!
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
