Chelsea surrendered a lead once again, settling for a frustrating 1-1 draw against Burnley after Zian Flemming’s injury-time header snatched a point for the visitors.
Early Promise Fades for Blues
Joao Pedro fired Chelsea ahead in the fourth minute, extending his impressive scoring streak and setting the stage for what appeared to be a comfortable victory. Burnley struggled to respond, but Chelsea failed to capitalize, allowing the game to drift before the dramatic late twist.
Wesley Fofana received a second yellow card for a late challenge on James Ward-Prowse, reducing Chelsea to 10 men. Despite fielding four central defenders at the moment of the equalizer, none tracked Flemming effectively on the corner kick from Ward-Prowse.
Pundits Criticize Sanchez’s Decision
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez drew sharp criticism for a decision in the 85th minute. After securing the ball, he chose a risky long clearance toward Pedro, who was visibly hampered by cramp, instead of wasting time.
On talkSPORT, pundit Jamie O’Hara labeled the move ‘stupid’ and akin to ‘non-league standard.’ He questioned Sanchez’s judgment, stating: ‘How old is (Robert) Sanchez? He’s not young, is he. He’s got plenty of experience.’
O’Hara continued: ‘In the 85th minute, the ball comes to him. All you do, go down. Hold onto it. What does he do? He boots it straight to a Burnley player, and they’re back on it! He’s done it twice. I’m looking at him going ‘What is he doing?’ That ain’t about being young, that’s about being stupid!’
Co-host Jason Cundy concurred, adding: ‘Catch it, go down, kill the clock. He boots it to Joao Pedro, who’s pulling up with cramp. What’s he going to do when he gets it? It’s 3v1. When if it’s the perfect pass, what’s he going to do? It’s 3v1.’
O’Hara emphasized: ‘You get hold of it, you go down, get the team up and then you boot it into the corner, right? You’ve wasted two minutes. That stuff there, right there, is where Chelsea are just ridiculous all the time. It’s like non-league stuff.’
Rosenior Demands Improvement
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior pointed to broader issues beyond Fofana’s dismissal. He stated: ‘That wasn’t on Wesley. That was on our performance. From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want us to create wave after wave of attacks. We were too safe in our possession.’
Rosenior highlighted vulnerabilities on set pieces with Ward-Prowse involved: ‘We knew their biggest threat with Ward-Prowse on the pitch was set plays. We went as big as we possibly could because that was the only way they could score with 10 men. We still don’t see it out.’
The result marked the second time in recent home games Chelsea dropped points from a winning position, echoing a prior collapse against Leeds when leading 2-0. Rosenior concluded: ‘We’ve set fire to four points from two home games. It’s not good enough for a club of this level for me to say we were the better team. I’m learning about the players. I’m learning about the people you can lean on when things aren’t going your way and you need to see a game out. That’s something we need to address very quickly.’
