Chelsea moved second in the Premier League and three points behind leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win at lowly Burnley thanks to goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez.
Neto’s 37th-minute opener was the only moment of real quality in the first half as Jamie Gittens’ excellent cross to the far post found Neto, who headed superbly back across goal and into the net.
Fernandez then made sure of Chelsea’s third straight league win in the 88th minute with a powerful close-range finish after fine work by substitute Marc Guiu to set him up.
Chelsea claimed victory without the influential Moises Caicedo, who was left on the bench, giving him crucial rest ahead of a crunch week for the Blues, who host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
The Gunners, though, have the chance to restore their six-point gap over Chelsea ahead of next weekend’s visit to Stamford Bridge when they host Tottenham in Sunday’s north London derby, live on Sky Sports.
Pedro Neto celebrates scoring Chelsea’s opener
Chelsea did not have to work too hard for their win at Burnley, who managed just two harmless shots on target, with Zian Flemming volleying their best chance over in the 69th minute.
But the home side felt aggrieved in the first half over what they felt should have been a bizarre penalty after Trevoh Chalobah put his hand on Robert Sanchez’s goal-kick, although referee Peter Bankes decided Sanchez had not taken it and was giving the ball to Chalobah to take.
“At the time I didn’t even notice,” admitted Burnley boss Scott Parker at his post-match press conference. “I have just seen it back, it does look like a penalty.
“The ball’s live, the keeper’s rolled it. I’m not sitting here being critical, but I suppose that is why we’ve got VAR. I don’t know whether they looked at it. It’s one of those things.”
What is not in doubt, however, is Burnley’s poor form, with the Clarets suffering a third straight defeat that leaves the 17th-placed side in danger of slipping into the relegation zone.
But at the other end of the table, Chelsea remain potential title challengers as they won a third straight away league game without conceding.
Maresca pleased to negotiate ‘very tricky’ game
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca speaking at his post-match press conference:
“It was a tough game for many reasons – after the international break, 12 o’clock in the morning, barely awake, this type of pitch, also we need to manage players, so it was a very tricky game.
Fernandez scored late on to secure the win for Chelsea
“The way the players competed, another clean sheet – they had just one important chance in the second half. We conceded some chaos inside the box, but it’s part of the game. Overall, I think we deserved to win the game and we are happy.
“We are confident, we are doing well. Today we could have done many, many things better for sure, but it was important to win the game.
“We are confident and we are ready to prepare for Tuesday and Sunday.”
Neto ‘relieved’ to win ahead of Barca and Arsenal games
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto speaking to TNT Sports on the win:
“It was a relief.
“It’s always difficult winning 1-0 away on this difficult ground.
Neto has five goal involvements in his last five Premier League appearances
“We had the attitude, we kept a clean sheet, so we are really happy with the win.”
On winning ahead of Barca and Arsenal games: “It’s always good to come back from the international break when we are away for a little bit of time. But now we will spend more time together.
“So, it’s really good and we are looking forward to the games because it’s the type of games we want to play.
“This one is a different one with battles. It was difficult to come here to play in this kind of ground. But we are looking forward to the next game.”
Parker ‘very pleased’ with display despite loss
Burnley boss Scott Parker speaking at his post-match press conference:
“My overall feeling is very, very pleased with the performance.
“I say that lightly because obviously we’ve not got anything out of the game, but the first half I thought we were brilliant.
“We were playing against a huge quality team here in Chelsea that at any moment can really hurt teams and I think you’ve seen that over the course of the season.
“The slight critical edge is maybe those half-chances we have in the first half, maybe one goes in or the final little bit of detail.”
Analysis: Barca and Arsenal tests to reveal Chelsea’s true status
This 2-0 win at Burnley did not truly reveal whether Chelsea are genuine title challengers.
It was certainly a ‘get the job done’ win, which champions require throughout a season, as Chelsea try to build title-challenging form with the Blues making it eight wins from 10 games in all competitions.
A toothless Burnley, however, severely lacked the quality and threat to trouble Chelsea.
That, though, will not be the case for the Blues’ upcoming opponents – Barcelona and Arsenal – in games that we will learn far more about Enzo Maresca’s side.
Sunday 30th November 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Andrey Santos has put himself in the picture to feature in those games with an impressive performance in the Burnley win, as he stepped in for the rested Moises Caicedo.
The Ecuadorian will, of course, be restored for these pivotal games with his battery fully charged, but should he pick up an injury, then Santos has proven an able deputy.
The Brazilian was one of four changes made by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, and he got his selection right at Turf Moor to quieten the doubters over his rotation policy.
The Italian revealed his half-time substitution of captain Reece James was “planned” as he meticulously sets up his side for a crunch week.
If they can pull off statement wins over Barca and Arsenal, especially without the instrumental Cole Palmer following his freak toe injury, then they will be taken far more seriously for tilts at the Premier League and Champions League.
Buckle up because we are really set to find out what this Chelsea team are all about.
Opta facts: Chelsea keep up 12.30pm Saturday winning record
Chelsea have won each of their last eight Premier League games kicking off at 12:30 on a Saturday, with only Manchester City enjoying a longer run of successive victories in this specific kick-off slot in the competition (9 wins in a row from May 2021 to Oct 2022).Chelsea have won five of their last six Premier League games (L1), winning three successive league matches to nil for the first time since March 2022.Burnley have lost three of their last five home league games (W1 D1), having gone unbeaten in their previous 24. It’s the first time they’ve lost back-to-back league matches at Turf Moor since their final two games of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.Across spells in charge of Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley, Scott Parker has never come from behind to win a Premier League match (P42 D4 L38), the most games a manager has trailed in without ever coming back to win in the competition’s history.No manager has been shown more Premier League cards since the start of last season than Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca (8 – level with Fabian Hurzeler).Chelsea are just the second team in Premier League history to go 50 consecutive games without a player aged 30 or older in their starting XI, after Aston Villa between September 2012 and January 2014 (59).
