EPL Week 4: Chelsea Defeats Burnley 3-0
August 29th 2009 20:49
As the season progresses, it seems like Chelsea is picking up steam with each game that goes by. It's still early of course, but the Blues' recent performances make them a strong candidate for the Premiership's title. Against surprise-team Burnley this Saturday, Chelsea's patience was rewarded with three goals scored in the span of six minutes (although the first was scored literally right before halftime).
Once again, Ballack was given a start, putting Lampard further back in midfield. I was worried that he was going to be invisible like previous games, but he seems to have finally woken up. The English midfielder was a lot more involved in the play against Burnley as he often penetrated the 18-yard box to either deliver a dangerous cross or come up with scrumptious volleys. As a matter of fact, Lampard was behind both of Chelsea's second-half goals. He first set up Ballack with a lovely cross one minute after the second half's kick-off, then combined for a nice one-two with Ashley Cole who put the ball in the back of the net in the 51st minute.
As I previously mentioned, the Blues' first goal came in the final minutes of the first half, but it wasn't due to a lack of trying on Chelsea's part. Indeed, Burnley played very well in the first 45 minutes, staying compact when defending, and not afraid to take chances of their own when attacking. With hindsight, Martin Paterson must be kicking himself for that golden occasion in the 9th minute when, practically alone against Cech, he fired his shot wide of the mark. Defensively, it was all about Brian Jensen who twice stopped Anelka on breakaways and denied Lampard several times. He had no chance on Chelsea's opener as Drogba made a nice cross for Anelka who had to slide in to poke the ball in the direction of the net. Considering Burnley's hard work in the first half, the timing of that goal was a real blow for the visitors.
So, Chelsea keeps trucking along with twelve points out of twelve in the first four games of the season. As for Burnley, it was probably time for them to fall back to Earth. Hopefully, Owen Coyle will prevent this defeat from becoming the beginning of a downward spiral.
Chelsea line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa (Juliano Belletti, 65th), Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack (John Obi Mikel, 82nd), Deco; Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba (Salomon Kalou, 75th).
Once again, Ballack was given a start, putting Lampard further back in midfield. I was worried that he was going to be invisible like previous games, but he seems to have finally woken up. The English midfielder was a lot more involved in the play against Burnley as he often penetrated the 18-yard box to either deliver a dangerous cross or come up with scrumptious volleys. As a matter of fact, Lampard was behind both of Chelsea's second-half goals. He first set up Ballack with a lovely cross one minute after the second half's kick-off, then combined for a nice one-two with Ashley Cole who put the ball in the back of the net in the 51st minute.
As I previously mentioned, the Blues' first goal came in the final minutes of the first half, but it wasn't due to a lack of trying on Chelsea's part. Indeed, Burnley played very well in the first 45 minutes, staying compact when defending, and not afraid to take chances of their own when attacking. With hindsight, Martin Paterson must be kicking himself for that golden occasion in the 9th minute when, practically alone against Cech, he fired his shot wide of the mark. Defensively, it was all about Brian Jensen who twice stopped Anelka on breakaways and denied Lampard several times. He had no chance on Chelsea's opener as Drogba made a nice cross for Anelka who had to slide in to poke the ball in the direction of the net. Considering Burnley's hard work in the first half, the timing of that goal was a real blow for the visitors.
So, Chelsea keeps trucking along with twelve points out of twelve in the first four games of the season. As for Burnley, it was probably time for them to fall back to Earth. Hopefully, Owen Coyle will prevent this defeat from becoming the beginning of a downward spiral.
Chelsea line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa (Juliano Belletti, 65th), Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack (John Obi Mikel, 82nd), Deco; Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba (Salomon Kalou, 75th).
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