Chelsea kept their dwindling Champions League hopes alive with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Europa League-chasing Burnley on Thursday night.
Antonio Conte kept one eye on the weekend’s FA Cup semi final by making wholesale changes to his side, including naming a Blues team with two strikers for the first time since 2011.
Kevin Long’s own goal and Victor Moses’s second half strike cancelled out Ashley Barnes’ deflected effort to secure the points for the visitors.
Here are four talking points from a real tactical battle at Turf Moor.
1. Antonio Conte changed to 4-4-2 and it made a real difference from the start
Eight points separated Chelsea from Tottenham, and more importantly the final Champions League spot, when they kicked off, so it wasn’t a shock to see Conte make six changes to his side, with an eye on Sunday’s FA Cup semi final with Southampton. If the Italian is to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, as is popularly believed, he wants to add more silverware to his CV, ensuring minimal damage to his rather impressive reputation after a tough campaign in West London. Olivier Giroud, instigator of the second half comeback against the Saints last weekend, was rewarded with a start, but not in place of Alvaro Morata. Instead, both Willian and Eden Hazard were sacrificed and the system changed.
By choosing to match Burnley’s 4-4-2 formation, the Blues lacked movement and they were much more predictable on the ball. But Conte’s plan worked early on; a high press allowed Chelsea’s midfield pairing of Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante to dominate the ball and suffocate the home side. Pedro and Moses kept the width on either side and Morata, whose form has best typified Chelsea’s sporadic performances this term, seemed to enjoy the freedom of having space to run behind, though he shot wide when baring down on goal just before the hour. Giroud won everything in the air against James Tarkowski and Long at the heart of the hosts’ defence, which was unable to deal with long cross-field balls. It was the latter who scored an own goal to give the outgoing champions the lead, turning Moses’ cross past Nick Pope following some erratic defending from Stephen Ward on the left.
2. Blues and Moses step up and do the business again
Moses is one of if not the biggest beneficiary of Conte’s Chelsea reign, having been brought in from the cold after three loan spells and given a new role and a fresh lease of life. The decision to play him at right-wing back in last season’s Premier League winning season was as surprising as it was inspired, and he used the discipline learnt perfectly as an orthodox winger, causing Ward all sorts of problems all night. After seeing a goal he initially claimed taken away from him, Moses made no mistake in the second half by firing past Pope to restore Chelsea’s lead.
It was a huge sign of Chelsea’s work ethic and determination, despite everything that has happened this season. For all the talk of discontent between them and Conte, and another complete overhaul on the horizon, the players have shown some of the mettle that won them the league last season in the past week or so, which bodes well for their FA Cup push. They picked up from where they left off against Southampton, recovering from 2-0 down to win 3-2, and rarely lost control of this game despite the home side’s improvement.
3. Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood were completely isolated but grew into the game
After five straight victories, it was clear Burnley had hit their stride at the right time in their push for European football; a big part of that has been the understanding between Barnes and Chris Wood, who had scored five goals in that run. Like Chelsea were in the first half, when at their best this season, Burnley are far from subtle; they rely on their strikers to battle for every ball and try to get their midfield as close the them as possible. Simply put, though, there wasn’t enough space for that link up, thanks to Kante and Bakayoko, who allowed Gary Cahill and Antonio Rüdiger to pick up the pieces.
The Clarets have been superb throughout the campaign, gaining plenty of points on the road against the top six. Only Manchester City had failed to win at Turf Moor, and a huge part of that has been their inability to match the intensity in midfield from their opponents. Staying compact and organised can only prove effective if it is complimented by pressure and aggression; it certainly wasn’t in the first half, Chelsea found it too easy to knock the ball around, rendering Barnes and Woods ineffectual. After the break, it was a different story; buoyed by Morata’s miss as they hunted an equaliser, Burnley found their rhythm a little more, and restored parity when Barnes deflected Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s shot past Thibaut Courtois moments before Moses struck.
4. Ben Mee must stay at Burnley this summer
On numerous occasions this season, Ben Mee has shown just how vital he is to Burnley, but never more so than against Chelsea, when he wasn’t even playing. The former Manchester City defender was out injured, but his absence was noticeable from the off. Long has performed well at times this season, but his own goal aside, it was clear Tarkowski missed Mee. The ball over the top caused constant issues, and the sooner he returns to help rectify that, the better.
His contract situation is very much in the air, and that will seriously worry Sean Dyche, who will not want to see a repeat of the £25million deal that saw Michael Keane leave for Everton last summer. There will undoubtedly be a queue of suitors over the summer, much to Dyche’s frustration.
