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CHELSEA 3-0 Burnley: Boring, boring Chelsea….Not!

I was reading some journo or other slating us last week because according to him, in spite of our 100% start to the season – we’re still just too mechanical and efficient, aka boring. All I can say is I hope he was watching this game with a large helping of humble pie in his over-opinionated cakehole.

Holding my hands up, I expected this game to be a little tougher as well – Burnley had after all come into it off the back of wins against both Everton and Manchester United – but the lads put in the sort of performance that must’ve had Owen Coyle wondering how the gap between us (that to be honest wasn’t even evident 9 months ago) suddenly looked like a gaping great chasm.

Fair play to Burnley though, Coyle stuck to his guns and didn’t park the bus as the Clarets attempted to give us a game – and ultimately sort of did – in the opening 20 mins at least. In fact, Martin Paterson had the opportunity to give them a first-half lead although fortunately for us, lacked the necessary composure. Add to that, the bonus for them of having the equivalent of a brick wall in goal in Brian Jensen – for the first half anyway – and we definitely weren’t going to get it all our own way for the first 45.

It wasn’t for the want of trying though as Ballack, Essien, Deco and Lampard dominated in midfield, with Essien looking back to his marauding best, Ballack looking much more comfortable and composed and even Deco putting in some subtle but effective link-up play.  And as for Drogba and Anelka – well, I might still have the odd momentary shake of the head when it comes to Ancelotti’s diamond, but it certainly seems to dispel the myth that they can’t play together.

Anyway, I’m in danger of getting all optimistic way too early in the season, so back to the game and after a spirited first 20 minutes from Burnley, it really was all Chelsea.  Ok, so we weren’t actually getting our chances past a seemingly bricked up Burnley goal but the chances were there and if we could just wait it out a bit, the football itself was more than enough to keep even the most die-hard purist entertained. And that patience paid off right before the break when a beautiful Essien through ball was swept across goal by Drogba for Anelka to slide home, sending us in a goal to the good at half-time.

A storming start to the second half saw a diving Michael Ballack header get past Jensen just two minutes in and if that wasn’t enough to wake us all up after the break, the sight of Ashley Cole letting fly with an angled shot past Jensen just 5 minutes later certainly did. No more than our left-back deserved today either, such was the performance he put in.

Didier Drogba, who might not have scored but was involved in just about everything else, left the field with much more credibility than our previous meeting – this time to a standing ovation with 15 minutes to go. Anelka, who for me made up for his lack of precision in finishing with his movement and supply-play, had a second goal denied by the linesman’s flag before Salomon Kalou missed out on making it 4-0 by an irritatingly good goal line clearance from Mears.

Still, we’d have taken 3-0 at the start of the game and considering by the end of the game we’d been treated to the sort of performance that had it been Arsenal, would have had the commentators wanking themselves silly, we can only be happy with it.

I know, I know, all this positivity really is a break from tradition for TheChelseaBlog, and I keep reminding myself it’s way too soon to get carried away with results but just a point to all the journo’s out there – that performance was anything but boring!

 

TEAMS

CHELSEA: Cech, A Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Lampard, Deco, Ballack, Essien, Drogba, Anelka

Subs: Hilario, Ivanovic, Mikel, Malouda, Kalou, Sturridge, Belletti

BURNLEY: Jensen, Jordan, Bikey, Carlisle, Mears, McCann, Alexander, Elliott, Paterson, Fletcher, Blake

Subs: Penny, Kalvenes, McDonald, Gudjonsson, Thompson, Guerrero, Eagles

 

GOALS

Anelka 45’

Ballack 47’

A Cole 52’

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