Chelsea dropped yet more points at home as relegation-threatened Burnley earned a point at Stamford Bridge despite having ten men.
Cole Palmer initially put Chelsea in the lead from the penalty spot. Lorenz Assignon was show a second yellow card for his foul. In the aftermath of the penalty incident, Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was also sent off with a red card for his protests.
Despite this, Chelsea failed to capitalise on their opportunities against the relegation-threatened Clarets, resulting in a disappointing outcome.
The home side’s advantage was short-lived as Josh Cullen equalised for Burnley shortly after the break.
Palmer doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 78th minute with an assist from Raheem Sterling. However, Burnley quickly responded as defender Dara O’Shea headed in the equaliser just three minutes later, much to Chelsea’s disappointment.
The subdued reaction from the Stamford Bridge crowd at full-time perhaps reflected the dwindling expectations surrounding the Blues’ side.
Pundit critical of Chelsea’s performance against Burnley
Match of the Day pundits further criticised the Blues’ performance, particularly questioning the validity of the first-half penalty decision.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown exclaimed:
“[The red cards] seemed to somehow make Burnley better. The space they were getting in that midfield, [Chelsea] paid £200m for that midfield. You see Cullen, who normally sits quite deep, plays a little one-two and it’s an unbelievable effort. The space he’s got is ridiculous.”
The Blues’ inconsistent performances have plagued them all season long. What’s even worse is the club have spent hundreds of millions of pounds to assemble the squad, and honestly, it doesn’t feel like it when you watch them play.
If Mauricio Pochettino is still in charge of the Blues come the summer, he will have to have a massive summer window to get anywhere near the top four places next season.