Burnley 1 – 4 Chelsea. Raheem Sterling inspired Chelsea to an impressive comeback win as Burnley slumped to their fifth successive Premier League home defeat of the season.
Eighteen-year-old French forward Wilson Odobert marked his first Premier League start by drilling low and hard past Robert Sanchez to send home fans into raptures at Turf Moor.
Chelsea were disjointed for spells but were back on level terms before half-time thanks to an unfortunate own goal.
A cross by Sterling, back in the starting XI after a virus, struck the knee of Belgium defender Ameen Al-Dakhil and looped over James Trafford into the net.
Chelsea then scored three times in a strong second-half showing to take the points.
Sterling, who has not featured for England since the World Cup, won a penalty after being fouled by Brazilian defender Vitinho, which allowed Cole Palmer to score his first goal for the Blues since moving from Manchester City.
Sterling – a four-time Premier League winner – then scored his side’s third with an arrowed finish after Conor Gallagher had spotted his run.
Play restarted after Sterling’s goal before referee Stuart Attwell stopped the game as a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a potential offside was continuing. The goal was eventually allowed to stand.
Substitute Nicolas Jackson sealed the points with a spin and finish, with Sterling once again involved in the move.
Having won at Fulham on Monday, it is the first time Chelsea have secured back-to-back away wins in the Premier League since October 2022.
This was a comprehensive showing by Mauricio Pochettino’s side as they scored four goals in a Premier League match for the first time since April 2022.
Chelsea have found goals hard to come by this season but, with Sterling running the show, they had no such problems in east Lancashire.
Sterling has been left out of a fourth successive England squad as the Three Lions get ready to play Australia in a friendly and Italy in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Yet the 28-year-old sent a reminder to Gareth Southgate of his qualities by being involved in all of his side’s goals.
This was only Chelsea’s seventh top-flight win in the calendar year and they remain a work in progress under Pochettino, with Arsenal expected to provide a much sterner test when the two sides meet after the international break on 21 October.
But having gone into September’s international break with four points from four games, they now appear to be moving in the right direction with goals beginning to flow.
This win lifts Chelsea, who have 11 points from eight matches, to 10th in the table.
Burnley were looking to build momentum having won for the first time in the league this season season at Luton on Tuesday.
It looked to be going to plan for Vincent Kompany’s side when the highly-rated Odobert scored his first Premier League goal.
Odobert followed it up with a cross which almost led to a second goal before the Clarets defence crumbled after Al-Dakhil’s own goal.
Only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United have conceded more than Burnley, who are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league since winning promotion.
It is not only the defence that needs fixing.
After home defeats by Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and now Chelsea, Burnley have to quickly find a way of winning in front of their own fans if they are to have any chance of staying up.
source – BBC
