Some will
cite the financial gulf between the teams, others the technical divide,
but the bottom line problem for Burnley on Monday night was that they
had not seen anything like this. There were moments, the second goal in
particular, when Chelsea took their football to a new level of
excellence under Jose Mourinho, second time around. And dealing with
that must be very unnerving for a group of players fresh to the Premier
League.
Only
Michael Duff has survived at Turf Moor from the last time Burnley were
part of the elite. He is 36. Of course, the increased challenge of the
Premier League is only to be expected. But nothing could prepare Sean
Dyche’s team for the moment when the full potential of players like Eden
Hazard, Andre Schurrle and Cesc Fabregas was unleashed. They won’t have
been confronted by the terrifying reality of a Champions League elite
team before. They won’t have faced a mind as nimble as that of Fabregas,
a full-back as dangerous as Branislav Ivanovic, or a finisher as
clinical as Diego Costa. The Championship, we are frequently told, is a
tough league – but not tough like this. Not in a way that challenges
mentally, physically, technically, like the Premier League at its best.
Burnley won’t have been confronted by a run like the one produced by
Hazard for the second goal, or the pass delivered by Fabregas moments
later.
It
was the second goal that drove the message home, while also making
clear the change in Chelsea season on season. It was more than just a
thing of beauty. It was a ten-second showcase of all the damage that
Mourinho’s little horse can now do, the new variations to Chelsea’s
play, the many layers to their game. It comprised a scintillating
dribble from Hazard, an intelligent overlap by Ivanovic, a killer pass
from Fabregas, and a finish from Schurrle that brought memories of balmy
nights in Brazil to a wet Burnley in the dwindling warmth of an English
summer.
Schurrle
deserves enormous credit for the timing of his run, but it was only
given meaning by the perfect ambition of Fabregas’ pass. He could have
shot, he could have attempted something easier. Instead he went eye of
the needle through Burnley’s startled defence. Will Arsene Wenger regret
not taking up the option on Fabregas’ return? If so, he will be too
stubborn to admit it, no doubt. Carry on like this, however, and the
evidence will be overwhelming. Fabregas was Chelsea’s best player – even
contributing a cheeky back-heel to the build-up to the first goal as
well as the corner for the third. Like Ivanovic, he was involved in all
three.
Yet
it was the second that will live in the memory. It is too early to talk
of goals of the season, obviously, but the reaction around Turf Moor
suggested the consequences of promotion suddenly got very real in the
21st minute. As for Dyche’s team, it took them until close to half-time
to recover.
The
immediate aftermath was a succession of errors, culminating in a third
Chelsea goal and including a passage of play that should have ended in a
Chelsea penalty, but instead brought a booking for Diego Costa. More
than icy wind and rain in mid-August, that was his welcome to the
Premier League.
The
controversy occurred in the 30th minute when left back Ben Mee, perhaps
rattled by the second goal he had just witnessed, played a woeful back
pass to goalkeeper Tom Heaton that died halfway and was pounced on by
Costa. Heaton came charging from his line, threw himself at the
advancing striker and Costa fell, perhaps dramatically. At first glance
it looked a penalty, on the replay contact appeared minimal, if it
happened at all. Yet here’s the rub. Undoubtedly, there is no way Costa
could have continued his run given Heaton’s challenge. He had to jump,
and lose control of the ball. Yes, he appeared to exaggerate his tumble
on the other side, but how can it be fair that a goalkeeper can come out
as madly as Heaton did, and end up as the wronged party? Costa looked
incredulous as referee Michael Oliver brandished his yellow card with
utmost pomposity. Maybe he should have let Heaton take him out, maybe
break a leg. Would that have seen justice done?
If Chelsea
were feeling hard done by, their grudging mood was not allowed to fester
long. Just two further minutes had elapsed when they established an
unassailable lead. Fabregas took the corner from the left and Burnley’s
back line were guilty of quite appalling marking, allowing Ivanovic to
run into the six-yard box unmarked and meet the ball on the volley for a
simple conversion. Burnley’s defensive work would not have passed
muster in League Two, let alone in this rarefied atmosphere. Turf Moor
fell uncommonly silent. It was going to be a long night; perhaps a long
season.
If
there is consolation it is that few teams in the Premier League have
Chelsea’ s imagination, firepower and invention. Manchester United are
here next in the Premier League, and they are certainly not in Chelsea’s
class yet. Burnley can also take solace from having struck the first
blow, with a quite magnificent goal after 14 minutes. More of that, and
they might be alright.
The
way the home team recycled a headed clearance – a lovely pass from
midfield picking out Matthew Taylor on the left, making an intelligent
run that flummoxed Chelsea’s offside trap – was certainly Premier League
standard. Even more so, the way Taylor assessed the situation and cut
back the perfect pass to Scott Arfield on the edge of the penalty area.
Arfield,
a free transfer from Huddersfield Town, typifies the wealth gap between
these clubs, yet his finish would not have looked out of place in
Chelsea blue – a lovely shot, powerful and perfectly placed, reducing
the much-vaunted Thibaut Courtois to the status of observer in goal.
That it
served only to rile Chelsea was perhaps unfortunate. Having made a
relatively slow start – a deflected shot by Schurrle had been their only
attempt at goal – they suddenly sprang to life. Within three minutes,
Ivanovic burst down the right flank – the beleaguered Mee having a
difficult time of it again – and his cross eluded all in the penalty
area, including goalkeeper Heaton. The ball struck the foot of the far
post and rebounded into the path of Costa. A £32m striker does not miss
from there. To be fair there are a few over Hackney Marshes who could
have had a fair swing at it. Even so, Costa’s decisiveness was
impressive. No attempt to finesse, no gilding the lily. He looked up and
– bang – Chelsea were level.
It
is to Burnley’s credit that even after the third had gone in, they were
not done. Danny Ings had a volley from a Taylor cross go wide moments
before half-time, and another shot saved by Courtois soon after. Yet the
outcome was never in doubt. One imagined that if Burnley had drawn
close, Chelsea would have simply swept down the other end and restored
logic to the scoreline. The gap between the teams only reflected the gap
on the balance sheet. Chelsea’s team was worth close to £200m more, and
you get what you pay for these days.
So
the first round of matches ends with Chelsea on top. Ominous, that.
Jose Mourinho is a front-runner and his previous title wins at Stamford
Bridge were a procession. This season? Well, start as you mean to go on
seemed to be the motto here. On this form, they will take some stopping.
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