Chelsea secured their first Premier League win under new manager, Thomas Tuchel after beating Burnley 2 – 0 at Stamford bridge to move up to seventh position on the table.
The Blues played out a goalless draw on Wednesday against Wolves; barely 24 hours after Frank Lampard was shown the exit door.
Burnley ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run of 68 games at Anfield on Thursday, courtesy of Ashley Barnes 83rd minutes penalty. But Sean Dyche’s men could not undo a composed Blues’ side, who are fired up for a top four spot.
Tuchel silenced critiques
Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of Chelsea had ended in a stalemate against Wolves and thus, led to several criticisms from fans who questioned his tactics despite wielding more of the possession in the entire duration of the encounter at Stamford bridge.
Meanwhile, the 47-year-old German tactician was quick to put the criticism behind; insisting he was pleased with his team’s performance on the night.
Against Sean Dyche’s side, the blues indeed gave a good account of themselves by picking up the desired three points and registering another clean sheet as Thiago Silver pairing and Rudiger looked very solid in the defense.
Marcos Alonso returned with a bang
When Tuchel said he was going to try out the entire team – that is to give other players an opportunity to get back into the first team, it probably didn’t look like it was happening so soon.
Well…it seems his plans are gradually playing out, after a Marcos Alonso’s strike sealed the win for the hosts.
It was the Spaniard’s first game for the west London club since September. The 30-year-old left back, who has attracted interest from several European clubs, fell out of favour with the previous Chelsea manger. He was was left out of the Chelsea squad by Frank Lampard for every league game.
But, he repaid the faith today by putting up a colossal performance which could earn him a place in Tuchel’s starting eleven against Spurs on Thursday.
Burnley’s relegation battle continues
Sean Dyche’s side failed to record their fourth straight win today against a reformed Chelsea side.
Burnley made two changes from a 3-2 win against Aston Villa in midweek as former Blue Jack Cork and Matej Vydra returned.
Despite showing the intent to attack in the early stages, it was the hosts who peppered Nick Pope’s goal with shots in the opening 20 minutes, albeit none of which unduly troubled the England goalkeeper.
The game saw Chelsea dominate the encounter as Burnley’s only option was a defensive show which further put them in danger.
Burnley’s porous defensive display could have seen them concede more goals but a miscued Chelsea attack kept the scoreline at 2 – 0.
Tarkwoski did manage to conjure up a last minute header for Dyche’s men – their only shot on target… but nothing really to trouble Mendy.
The Clarets now occupy the 16th position on the table; eight points above the relegation waters and will next face an in form Manchester City side at home on Wednesday.
