Chelsea were robust rather than fluent - particularly in defence - but given the changes to the line-up it was a creditable win to retain Conte’s aspirations of a purposeful conclusion to the season, and most likely his reign. They are not so far behind Spurs in the chase for the top four, and Liverpool must still win their next two to guarantee the Merseysiders’ trip to Stamford Bridge has little meaning.
“The only way is to get three points in every game from now until the end. It won’t be easy because it is five points to Tottenham,” said Conte.
“We have missed great chances to stay closer but tonight I saw a great team spirit and we must be pleased.”
Chelsea were a tad patched up, particularly as Marcos Alonso’s suspension for stamping Southampton’s Shane Long was confirmed before kick-off.
More changes followed, Conte’s team selection given a retro feel – a reminder of those times when managers rested players in the league for crucial FA Cup ties rather than vice-versa.
Emerson made his first start. Hazard, Willian, Fabregas and Andreas Christensen began on the bench. If that was no shock, Ross Barkley’s failure to get a game in the light of so many other changes was more surprising. The midfielder must hope the next coach sees what Conte has evidently missed.
The Chelsea extras showed their desire was not as compromised as the manager’s selections, Morata sent clear by Giroud’s clever flick and forcing Nick Pope into the first meaningful action on ten minutes – an easy save from a tight angle.
The visitors took the lead on 19 minutes, Gary Cahill’s diagonal picking out Moses whose tame cross somehow bewitched Pope and Kevin Long. The keeper’s fingertip onto the chest of the retreating centre-half did the damage. Gareth Southgate’s prayer for a consistent, error free finale to the season from his England goalkeepers is yet to be answered.
Burnley responded when their defenders found their range and accuracy with their drivers, Matt Lowton particularly effective when testing Chelsea’s centre-halves.
More sophistication was needed to ruffle Chelsea’s back three, however. Gary Cahill and company’s application, courage and concentration was under most scrutiny here, particularly when the Chelsea captain took an accidental boot in the face from Ashley Barnes.
After Morata’s sloppy miss, Burnley struck a fortuitous equaliser on 64 minutes. The visitors felt Moses was fouled in the build-up, but the ball was worked to Johann Berg Gudmundsson whose hopeful strike deflected off Barnes heel, wrong-footing Thibaut Courtois.
FULL-TIME: Chelsea win!
90min: 4 minutes of added-on time.
88min: Hazard holds the ball after a Pedro interception, then holds it some more, then finds Moses whose cross is met by Zappacosta at the far post, but he can’t keep his header down.
84min: Hazard creates a chance for Giroud. It’s blocked for a corner, which is then aimed at Pedro making his typical run to the top of the box. His good-looking shot is blocked. Zappacosta replaces Emerson on the left.
81min: Emerson’s turn to win a free kick, but the subsequent move breaks down.
78min: Bakayoko gets taken down, no card. Conte not happy with that decision and lets the fourth official know in no uncertain terms. From the resulting free kick, Hazard and Moses almost create a glorious chance but Burnley clear at the last second. Some excellent running on the right from Moses tonight.
74min: Chelsea look for a third but Hazard thwarted by Cork at the last second after some intricate interplay with Giroud
69min: VICTOR MOSES! Another good cross from Emerson is missed by Giroud, but Moses is there at the far post to collect and smash it low and hard past Pope. 2-1! Hazard comes on for Morata in the wake of the goal to restore Chelsea to a more familiar 3-4-3. Morata none too pleased, but his miss was horrendous (yet again).
63min: Out of nothing, a faraway shot from Gudmondsson is deflected into the back of the net off Ashley Barnes’s heel, who knew nothing about it. He was on-side, but that’s about it for actual intent. Morata’s miss looms large, as does the no-call on Moses going to ground a few seconds prior.
62min: Moses’s effort held well with both Giroud and Morata lurking.
60min: A much more even half, though Chelsea “should” be up two. Alas, it remains just a 1-0 lead. Fabregas, Hazard, Willian warming up. Tarkowski a bit lucky to escape a second yellow for a flailing arm that gets Giroud in the neck, who receives a bit of treatment.
55min: Morata misses an absolute sitter after great work from Kanté in intercepting the ball and setting the striker in all alone from the half-way line. Morata outpaces his defender but rolls his effort wide of the right-hand side post.
53min: Courtois catches a corner as he wakes briefly from his slumber.
50min: Burnley start the second half well, but Chelsea hold steady then threaten at the other end.
46min: Back underway; no changes.
HALF-TIME: One additional minute later, Bobby Madley blows for half-time. Decent effort by the Blues, though certainly better than the hosts. Giroud & Morata have linked up well at times, with the former central to most things good from the boys. Burnley have been largely restricted, though Ashley Barnes still managed to get in a maiming attempt on Gary Cahill.
Can we hang on to this lead in the second-half and maybe even add to it?
39min: Kanté goes close with a dipping rasper of a shot after one of those mazy runs he sometimes decides to do when no one else is doing anything.
38min: Pedro steals a few souls with a backflick and nutmeg before setting up on a 50-yard sprint up the left. The cross to Giroud is almost inch-perfect. What a goal that would’ve been!
33min: Giroud and Morata link up well again; Pope saves for a corner from the latter, but it’s wasted with a terrible take from Pedro.
31min: Burnley finally show up and launch a few efforts into the box. Bakayoko eventually clears.
28min: Morata wins a free-kick just outside the penalty area. Tarkowski booked. Pedro’s effort well wide of the near post.
25min: Chelsea continue to press the issue. Burnley have offered very little so far.
20min: A long ball from Cahill finds Moses up the right wing; his cross is diverted into the net for an own goal. LOL! We’ll take them any way we can!
15min: Quarter hour gone; scoreless. Chelsea with the edge in possession and chances. Giroud central to most good things.
11min: Morata and Giroud link up, the latter flicking the ball on for the former, but his shot is saved by Pope. Promising.
8min: Giroud played in again, loses balance in the box. No call, and probably rightly so.
Seen them given*
* when watching other teams — TOCFCWS (@tocfcws) April 19, 2018
5min: Chelsea defend a free kick and break upfield. Moses finds Giroud in the middle, bu this shot is blocked.
KICK-OFF: The teams walk out to a bit of Arcade Fire. Will there be fire-works on the pitch? Chelsea look to be in a 3-5-2.
ANTONIOOOOO:
Antonio Conte takes charge of his 100th Chelsea game (all comps), tonight.
He’s the 3rd Chelsea manager to reach that milestone under the 15-year ownership of Roman Abramovich, after Jose Mourinho (321 over 2 spells) & Carlo Ancelotti (109) #PL pic.twitter.com/HqQ14HAAd5 — Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) April 19, 2018
We’re trying something slightly different with gamethreads: instead of just an open thread, it will be updated regularly (while you comment away below) with highlights, stats, and anything else worthwhile for a live blog sort of thing. Let’s see how it goes.
COME ON, CHELSEA!
Burnley starting lineup (4-4-2):
Pope | Ward, Tarkowski, Long, Lowton | Gudmundsson, Westwood, Cork, Lennon | Barnes, Wood
Substitutes from: Heaton, Taylor, Marney, Vokes, Hendrick, Wells, Bardsley
Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3?):
Courtois | Rudiger, Cahill (c), Azpilicueta | Emerson, Bakayoko, Kante, Moses | Giroud, Morata, Pedro
Substitutes from: Caballero, Christensen, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Barkley, Willian, Hazard
So that’s Giroud and Morata starting together for the first time? The official Chelsea Twitter still gave it as a 3-4-3, but surely Giroud is not playing as a winger. 3-4-1-2? 4-4-2?
Rudiger is restored, Christensen is rested, as are both Hazard and Willian ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal.
Date / Time: Thursday, April 19th, 2018, 19:45 BST; 2:45 pm EDT; 12:15 am IST
Venue: Turf Moor, Burnley, England
Referee: Bobby Madley
On TV: Sky Sports (UK); NBCSN, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD2 (India); elsewhere
Streaming online: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Hotstar (India)
Please keep comments civil and be excellent to each other.
A post shared by Goal Indonesia (@goalcomindonesia) on Apr 15, 2018 at 8:54am PDT
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Victor Moses put in a man of the match performance as his goal sealed a 2-1 victory for Chelsea against Burnley at Turf Moor.
Antonio Conte's side looked much improved in the Thursday-night clash and got the opener when Moses' cross into the box was turned into his own net by Kevin Long in the 20th minute.
But when Ashley Barnes unwittingly touched Johann Berg Gudmundsson's cross, it flew past Thibaut Courtois to haul Burnley back into the Premier League clash in the second half.
However, Moses struck just five minutes later to secure all three points that sends Chelsea to within five points of fourth-placed Tottenham, who followed up their loss to Manchester City at the weekend with a 1-1 draw away to Brighton on Tuesday.
Chelsea captain Gary Cahill admitted before the game against Burnley that the mood of the players had improved significantly following their dramatic comeback win away to Southampton last Saturday.
Olivier Giroud was the hero for the Blues in that game at St Mary's Stadium after the striker came off the bench and scored twice to seal a 3-2 win that got Chelsea back on track in their bid to close the gap between themselves and fourth-placed Tottenham.
Indeed, Giroud's performance against the Saints was enough to convince Conte to start him alongside Alvaro Morata in a 3-5-2 formation at Turf Moor - which proceeded to cause Burnley all sorts of problems in the first half.
Giroud's run into the box in just the eighth minute resulted in Long bringing him down, although no penalty was given to the visitors, before the Frenchman's flick-on was latched onto by Morata - only for Nick Pope to deny the Spaniard.
Chelsea were playing with an air of confidence not seen from the Blues in a long time, and they duly went ahead in the 20th minute when Moses sent a cross into the box, which saw Long and Pope fail to communicate well enough.
The pair both ran for the same ball, which ended up rebounding off Long and into the back of the net to hand Chelsea a deserved lead.
Burnley reacted well, and had a great chance to restore parity but Barnes failed to make contact with Matthew Lowton's cross from the right despite being just a few yards away from the goal.
But Chelsea were firmly in control by this point and should have doubled their advantage when N'Golo Kante went for goal from long distance but saw his effort fly over the bar.
Conte, managing his 100th Chelsea game, looked frustrated at his side's inability to convert their chances - which was vindicated when Burnley came out in the second half and piled the pressure on the visitors' defence.
And the hosts got the equaliser they were looking for moments after Morata wasted a perfect chance to score when he ran through on goal but somehow contrived to fire wide.
Gudmundsson was involved in the goal when his long-range effort deflected off Barnes - not standing in an offside position despite the protests of the Chelsea defenders - and past Courtois.
But Chelsea reacted quickly as Emerson, on his first Premier League start, sent in a cross from the left that fell to Moses at the far post and was fired in by the 27-year-old.
Conte brought off an angry-looking Morata for Eden Hazard, who had been rested ahead of the FA Cup semi-final clash against Southampton in less than 72 hours' time.
But there were to be no more goals as Chelsea held on to get their Champions League hopes back on track.
