Joao Pedro shines, Wesley Fofana shameful – Chelsea player ratings vs Burnley
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley at Stamford Bridge after Zian Flemming’s late equaliser cancelled out Joao Pedro’s early opener.
Chelsea got off to a dream start as Pedro forced the ball past Martin Dubravka in the fourth minute from Pedro Neto’s low cross.
Liam Rosenior‘s side remained in the ascendancy for the majority of the rest of the game, but Burnley were handed a lifeline in the 72nd minute as Wesley Fofana was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Jorrel Hato should have done better with a late shot that fell to him on the edge of the box, while Burnley wanted another Chelsea defender off as Tosin Adarabioyo looked to have pulled Flemming down as he was through on goal.
Ashley Barnes sent a header over Robert Sanchez’s crossbar in the dying embers, and Burnley dramatically found a 93rd-minute equaliser as Flemming nodded in from James Ward-Prowse’s corner.
Joao Pedro – Man of the match
Pedro was the only Chelsea player to get on the scoresheet for his side on Saturday afternoon, and he was their main attacking threat throughout.
The Brazil striker took his goal well as he bundled himself, the ball and Dubravka over the line, and kept getting into good areas to score but was let down by his teammates.
He looks to have nailed down the number nine position under Rosenior, and for good reason too, earning an eight out of 10 rating for his efforts against Burnley.
Fofana was poor even prior to his red card
Fofana has returned from a lengthy injury layoff to become a regular starter under Rosenior in recent weeks, but will now surely face some time out of the team after his red card.
The Frenchman looked pretty shaky all afternoon, despite being up against a struggling Clarets attack, and received his first booking for a late challenge on Hannibal in the 34th minute.
He then bizarrely lunged in on James Ward-Prowse while on a yellow late on, and was rightfully sent off by referee Lewis Smith.
The Blues were forced to defend resolutely and with their backs against the wall for parts of the latter stages of the match, all because of his poor decision making.
Fofana earns a two out of 10 rating for putting his side into trouble for no reason, as he was arguably the main reason why they only took a point from the game.
Chelsea player ratings in 1-0 win vs Burnley
- Robert Sanchez – 6
- Reece James – 5
- Wesley Fofana – 2
- Trevoh Chalobah – 5
- Malo Gusto – 4
- Moises Caicedo – 5
- Andrey Santos – 5
- Pedro Neto – 7
- Cole Palmer – 6
- Enzo Fernandez – 6
- Joao Pedro – 8
Substitutes
- Tosin Adarabioyo (on for Palmer 74′) – 5
- Liam Delap (on for Pedro 80′) – 6
- Jorrel Hato (on for Gusto 80′) – 6
- Josh Acheampong (on for James 88′) – N/A
- Mamadou Sarr (on for Neto 88′) – N/A