Chelsea 3 – 0 Burnley: First impressions on impressive win (Video)

Chelsea notched the win they needed, dominating Burnley the full 90 minutes to come away with a 3-0 victory. Here are three quick impressions from the match.

Chelsea executed their game plan clinically, dominating possession and going into halftime with a 2-0 lead through Eden Hazard and Willian. Victor Moses finished the job, sliding through the box to smash home a pinpoint cross from Pedro.

The score could easily have been 5-0 just on the strength of Eden Hazard’s performance. Burnley’s goalkeeper Tom Heaton saved his team from humiliation by repeatedly turning away Chelsea strikes.

Eden Hazard is back

The footwork, the change of direction, the acceleration, the cheeky grin you either want to kiss or slap… it’s all back. Eden Hazard opened Chelsea’s scoring on a quintessential Eden Hazard solo effort. He was happy but not satisfied, tormenting Heaton and Burnley’s defense until making way for Pedro.

Shortly before the hour, Willian sailed a corner to Hazard waiting alone at the top of the box. Hazard took the ball out of the air and rifled a low shot towards the bottom corner of the net. Heaton impressively dove hard to his left and saved what everyone though would be Hazard’s second.

Hazard showed his confidence and hunger in not only attempting that shot, but in executing it as cleanly as he did. A lesser player, or a lesser-version of Hazard, would have corralled the ball and searched for a more stable shot or through-ball pass. Hazard followed his offensive instincts, giving his team a credible and memorable scoring opportunity.

Performance follows from attitude. Last year, Hazard suffered on both accounts. This year, he is in form and is once more in the mix with Luis Suarez, Neymar and Gareth Bale.

Oscar and N’Golo Kante controlled midfield like a vise

Oscar took his turn today showing what a 90 minute two-way midfielder looks like, just in case there was a certain Spaniard on the bench wondering about such things. When Chelsea lost possession in attack, Burnley could barely take two steps towards the midfield line before Oscar tackled the Clarets from behind.

He tackled so quickly upon transition that he would not only retain possession for the Blues, but preserve Chelsea’s momentum. Chelsea barely had time to retreat to midfield before Oscar won back the ball and initiated the offensive press.

When Burnely managed to bring the ball over midfield, N’Golo Kante was his usual dynamo. If he was not regaining possession himself he was harassing and herding the Clarets until they surrendered the ball to his teammates.

With Oscar on the forward side of midfield and Kante on the defensive side, Chelsea can shut down any opposition offence. Oscar’s back-tackling and Kante’s one-man mobile wall precludes any form of offensive build-up other than a Leicester City-style counter-attack.

Chelsea showed how thoroughly they can dominate the offensive third. Oscar and Kante demonstrated how they can control the middle-third. Which only leaves….

Defence not tested, help still needed

As expected, Burnley did not bother much with possession. Chelsea’s discipline in midfield denied the Clarets the few opportunities they saw last week against Liverpool.

Burnley mustered a string of corner kicks between the 70th and 75th minute, but did not sustain any pressure or force Thibaut Courtois into anything beyond routine saves.

The 3-0 win was nothing less than Chelsea deserved against Burnley, and the clean sheet will be a relief to Courtois and Conte. That is not a signal that all is well with Chelsea’s defensive lineup.

Next: Chelsea vs. Burnley: The last five clashes

Conte must maintain his pressure on the board to – somehow – secure a centre-back in the waning days of the transfer window. He cannot allow Michael Emenalo and the rest of the decision-makers to only see a 3-0 scoreline and forget that Chelsea surrendered a total of four goals against three teams no better than Burnley.