Chelsea surrendered a lead once again, settling for a frustrating 1-1 draw against Burnley after Zian Flemming’s injury-time header.
Early Promise Fades Late
Joao Pedro fired Chelsea ahead in the fourth minute, extending his strong scoring streak and setting the stage for what appeared to be a comfortable victory. Burnley struggled to respond initially, but Chelsea’s failure to press their advantage allowed the visitors back into the contest.
Wesley Fofana received a second yellow card for a late challenge on James Ward-Prowse, leaving Chelsea with 10 men. Despite manning four central defenders for the decisive corner, none tracked Flemming effectively, enabling the Dutch forward to nod home the equalizer.
Sanchez Faces Fierce Backlash
Jamie O’Hara, speaking on talkSPORT alongside Jason Cundy, targeted goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for a critical mistake in the 85th minute. With the game in hand, Sanchez collected the ball but chose a risky long clearance toward Pedro, who was visibly hampered by cramp, instead of running down the clock.
“How old is Robert Sanchez?” O’Hara questioned. “He’s not young, is he? He’s got plenty of experience.”
As Cundy interjected, O’Hara pressed on: “In the 85th minute, the ball comes to him. All you do, go down. Hold onto it. What does he do? He boots it straight to a Burnley player, and they’re back on it!”
O’Hara labeled the decision “stupid,” noting Sanchez repeated the error. Cundy concurred, highlighting the 3-v-1 disadvantage it created for Pedro. “Catch it, go down, kill the clock,” Cundy added.
O’Hara concluded: “You get hold of it, you go down, get the team up and then you boot it into the corner. That stuff there is where Chelsea are just ridiculous all the time. It’s like non-league stuff.”
Rosenior Demands Accountability
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior pinpointed defensive lapses beyond Fofana’s dismissal. “That wasn’t on Wesley,” he stated. “That was on our performance. From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want us to create wave after wave of attacks. We were too safe in our possession.”
Rosenior highlighted vulnerabilities on set pieces with Ward-Prowse in play: “We knew their biggest threat with Ward-Prowse on the pitch was set plays. We went as big as we possibly could because that was the only way they could score with 10 men. We still don’t see it out.”
The result echoed Chelsea’s prior collapse from 2-0 up against Leeds, underscoring ongoing disciplinary and game-management issues. “We’ve set fire to four points from two home games. It’s not good enough for a club of this level,” Rosenior admitted. “I’m learning about the players. I’m learning about the people you can lean on when things aren’t going your way and you need to see a game out. That’s something we need to address very quickly.”
