A ten-man Burnley team came back from behind twice to earn a heroic 2-2 draw against a negligent Chelsea team that had been squandering opportunity after opportunity in their attempt to get closer to the European spots.
The visitors were in serious trouble after a frantic five-minute stretch near the end of the first half. Mykhailo Mudryk was given the wrong side by Lorenz Assignon, and the Chelsea forward was sent sprawling after an awkward arm to the shoulder.
Following his initial booking of Assignon for a previous foul on Mudryk, referee Darren England signalled the spot and then gave the player a second yellow card. On the touchline, Clarets manager Vincent Kompany became enraged about the whole incident, and he was subsequently escorted indoors. After that, Cole Palmer scored a Panenka to coolly finish the ensuing penalty.
Josh Cullen’s incredible strike in the 47th minute rocked Stamford Bridge and brought struggling Burnley level, and from then on, the game had twists and turns. There was still drama to be had.
In the shade Palmer was set up by Raheem Sterling with a clever flick in the 78th minute, and he skillfully finished it off after Sterling had received a mixed response from the home crowd upon his bench cameo.
Dara O’Shea headed a cross from Cullen past Djordje Petrovic three minutes after Chelsea had taken the lead again. Petrovic mishandled the attempt and let it slither wildly past him.
When Jay Rodriguez replaced Palmer and Burnley threatened to pull off the unbelievable in the 88th minute, he headed against the crossbar. Sterling had the opportunity to win it when he broke onto Palmer’s far-post ball but strangely nodded wide.
Chelsea has now gone five games without a loss across all competitions, but it will come as little comfort to manager Mauricio Pochettino, who seen his team twice blow important leads against a team with ten players and is currently ranked 19th in the standings.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino: “I’m really disappointed with way we managed the second half. We didn’t deal with situations.
“We are a team that, when we go forward, we create chances. But not to score with the chances we created – we didn’t show capacity, energy, hunger. That’s the minimum to compete in the Premier League.
“I am so upset and disappointed. It’s more [points to heart and head], than in the legs. You have to be strong as a team. We are slow evolving in this area. It’s not to find excuses, it’s about the team.
“When we don’t have the ball, it’s not the same. Sorry, I’m not happy with our performance without the ball. They are very physical, we need to be strong also. We allowed them to run too much.”
Palmer: We kill ourselves every week
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer: “The changing room is really down. When they went down to 10 men, we were 1-0 up and just got too comfortable. Same story, we kill ourselves every week. It’s got to improve from us as players.
“We had many chances and then that time we defended sloppy. It’s very disappointing. On a personal level it’s good to score two, but if you don’t get the three points they count for nothing.
“I think it’s our consistency all around the pitch, being alive and not switching off like we did today. It’s poor, it can’t happen. Especially when they go down to 10 men.”
Burnley assistant manager Craig Bellamy: “Beyond proud. We all are as staff. Chelsea have a lot of quality, so clearly, when we went down to 10 men, we had to be organised. We still felt there was a possibility of getting into the game.
“The level of commitment and work-rate – the manager has said in the dressing room, he’s beyond proud.
“The players had the attitude of ‘we’re together now’ [after the red card]. Sometimes a moment like that can be really huge and hopefully this has a hugely positive impact for us for the rest of this season.”
On Thursday night, Chelsea returns to west London to host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. The following Sunday, they go to Sheffield United.
In their next match, Burnley hosts Wolves on Tuesday night. Next Saturday, they play a crucial six-point relegation match against Everton at Goodison Park.
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