Wasteful Chelsea miss chance to extend lead at top of Premier League

Burnley's Matej Vydra celebrates scoring the equalizing goal. Picture: Tess Derry/PA

CHELSEA 1 (Havertz 33) BURNLEY 1 (Vydra 79)

What's luck got to do with it?

Thomas Tuchel said Burnley were “very lucky” to leave Stamford Bridge with a draw, after Matej Vydra scored a late equaliser to earn the visitors a point, but the Chelsea glossed over a mass of missed chances from his own side, who also missed out on an opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table.

Kai Havertz had put Chelsea ahead in a one-sided first-half, but Tuchel's men failed to capitalise on a succession of good chances and after Vydra struck with ten minutes remaining, Burnley left with the point they deserved for a battling performance.

And while Chelsea's players were guilty of poor finishing at times, Nick Pope was outstanding in the Burnley goal with a man-of-the-match performance.

While a point was not enough to lift Sean Dyche's men out of the bottom three, the one that Chelsea got at the end of an enthralling match means they are just three points ahead of Manchester City, who closed the gap by winning at Manchester United earlier in the day.

Yet few would have predicted a draw here, and indeed the first-half was so one-sided from the start that it was simply a question of when, rather than if, Chelsea would take the lead.

That it took until the 33rd minute, when Havertz headed in a Reece James cross, says a lot about Burnley's stubbornness, and the exploits of Pope.

The goalkeeper had to be on high alert from the start, as Tuchel's men peppered his goal with headers and shots.

His first save was to beat away a low drive from Callum Hudson-Odoi, who fired the rebound wide of the far post. Pope then tipped away a shot from James, and from the ensuing corner, Andreas Christensen headed wide. When Pope tipped away a glancing header from Havertz, Antonio Rudiger headed over from the resulting corner.

Ross Barkley, in for Mason Mount, shot wide and then high, Pope used his legs to keep out a deflected cross from James. But the keeper had little chance when Havertz opened the scoring. N'Golo Kante, outstanding even by his own high standards, sent James away down the right, the wing-back crossed with pace and precision, and Havertz barely left the ground as he guided his header into the far corner of goal.

Burnley offered little goal threat, and there was more danger in the dugouts, as Sean Dyche and Tuchel's coaching teams squared up to each other after one clash on the pitch.

Havertz should have made it 2-0 early in the second-half, shortly after Thiago Silva headed against a post. James and Barkley fed the ball wide to Hudson-Odoi, the winger's low cross was into the path of Havertz in the centre of goal, but the German scooped his shot over the bar from close range.

And all the misses were to prove costly as Burnley turned it around. Dyche replaced his front two with Jay Rodriguez and Vydra, and the pair combined for the equaliser. Ashley Westwood crossed from the right, Rodriguez rose to nod towards goal, and Vydra helped bundle the ball over the line from close range.

Vydra even had a chance to snatch victory in stoppage time, but sent his lob wide of the far post.

Tuchel said Burnley were “very, very lucky” but added: “That's football. We were lucky to escape with a clean sheet at Brentford recently. We had chances and I am happy with the way we played, our intensity and ambition.” Dyche played down the touchline antics between the two sets of coaches, saying: “I saw nothing special on the touchlie. I am just a normal bloke trying to win a game of football.

“We had to stay in the game, and we found a way to make it through. They (Chelsea) are a top side put together by multimillions and they looked like it. I can understand his (Tuchel's) frustration."

CHELSEA 3-4-3: Mendy 7; Christensen 7, Thiago Silva 7 , Rudiger 7 ; James 8, Jorginho 7, Kante 8 (Mount 84), Chilwell 8; Hudson-Odoi 7 (Pulisic 84) , Havertz 6, Barkley 7 (Loftus-Cheek72).

BURNLEY 4-4-2: Pope 9; Lowton 6, Tarkowski 8, Mee 7, Taylor 7; Brownhill 6, Gudmondsson 6 (Vydra 70), Westwood 7, McNeil 7; Cornet 5 (Pieters 86), Wood 5 (Rodriguez, 60).

Ref: Andre Marriner 8/10