Chelsea kept their dwindling Champions League hopes alive with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Europa League-chasing Burnley on Thursday night.
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While by no means a howler, Pope should have done better to stop Victor Moses’ cross rather than palming the ball onto his own defender for the opening goal.
The Lancashire side are unbeaten in their seven previous Premier League home midweek games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), winning four and drawing three.
But Opta numbers indicate only two-time Blues coach Jose Mourinho has a better win ratio (72 per cent) than Conte’s 65 per cent record after 100 matches in charge.
The Belgian was one of six changes made by Antonio Conte, who had one eye on Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton at Wembley.
Morata did, however, miss a clear chance when he was put through one-on-one against Burnley keeper Nick Pope and shot wide but Conte said his decision to substitute the Spaniard was simply about getting Hazard on the field for the latter stages.
Mid-way through the second-half, Burnley were level.
Morata almost doubled the lead moments later after receiving a neatly-threaded through ball from Giroud, but Pope stepped up to get a touch on his attempted dink to put the ball out for a corner. Chelsea’s recent rhythm is enough to instill confidence in supporters that they can win the FA Cup.
Hazard is joined on the bench by Cesc Fabregas and the in-form Willian.
Chelsea dominated and took the lead in the 20th minute when Long deflected the ball into his own net after good work on the right by Moses.
After seeing a goal he initially claimed taken away from him, Moses made no mistake in the second half by firing past Pope to restore Chelsea’s lead.
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As he made his way to the sidelines, the Spanish global was provoked, with the fans trying to make him reminiscent of his mistakes. Burnley hosted Chelsea in a battle for fifth place and pride. “This was the first time we tried it and we had good responses”. Moses and Pedro were crucial to Chelsea’s dominance and, had Àlvaro Morata not been ruled offside on countless occasions, then Chelsea could’ve gained some breathing space.
