Chelsea close gap on leaders Arsenal with 2-0 win at Burnley
BURNLEY, England :Goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez earned Chelsea a 2-0 victory at lowly Burnley on Saturday, a win that moved the Blues within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Despite the visitors struggling to find their rhythm early on, Neto arrived at the back post to put Chelsea into a 37th-minute lead, an advantage they never looked like relinquishing.
The hosts rallied in the second half but did not create one opening of note, with Fernandez slamming home the second goal late on to seal what will be one of Enzo Maresca's side's most comfortable successes of the campaign.
A third straight league win moved Chelsea up to second on 23 points behind London rivals Arsenal, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Manchester City, who have 22 points, can regain second spot when they visit Newcastle United later on Saturday.
"Tough game for many reasons, but they did not have one chance," Maresca said. "Overall we deserved to win the game.
"I am very happy since I joined this club. When you lose one game it is a crisis, when you lose two it is huge crisis. But I am still enjoying it. We are in a good place right now."
With high-profile clashes against European giants Barcelona and Arsenal up next, Chelsea gave key midfielder Moises Caicedo a rest. However, the visitors looked disjointed in the Ecuadorian's absence in the first half.
HAPPY HUNTING GROUND
Burnley has been a happy hunting ground for Chelsea, who travelled to Lancashire in search of their seventh successive league win at Turf Moor.
It was nevertheless the hosts who had the better of the opening exchanges but they could not make their pressure pay.
With their first meaningful attack, Chelsea edged into the lead. Jamie Gittens' cross was inch-perfect, as was the header from Neto, the Portuguese scoring his fourth league goal of the season.
A fine, flowing move saw Neto almost score again when he hit the post just after the hour mark as Chelsea pushed for a killer second goal. Down the other end, however, they remained totally untroubled.
Argentine Fernandez could not miss the game-clinching second when it came two minutes from time after impressive tenacity from substitute Marc Guiu to set the chance up.
Following a mixed start to the campaign, Chelsea are starting to click into gear. They have now won five of their last six Premier League games, winning three successive league matches to nil for the first time since March 2022.
Burnley's third straight defeat - all to London sides - leaves them struggling on 10 points from 12 matches.
"I am pleased with the performance," Burnley coach Scott Parker said. "We didn’t make poor decisions, we stayed in the match, but we could not make the pressure count.
"We need to hit a certain target and keep improving."
