Chelsea kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive with a 2-1 win against Burnley on Thursday night.
An own goal from Kevin Long gave Antonio Conte’s side a first-half lead before Ashley Barnes’ deflected effort levelled the scores in the second half. Within minutes, Chelsea restored their lead thanks to Victor Moses’ effort.
That proved to be the winning goal as Chelsea, who made six changes to the team, closed the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham to five points with four matches left to play.
Here are our player ratings:
Thibaut Courtois: 6 – Didn’t have a save to make in the first half. Unfortunate to concede a deflected goal.
Antonio Rudiger: 6 – Wasn’t his best performance but was effective by making things difficult for Burnley forwards.
Gary Cahill: 7 – A solid performance from the England defender. Showed his experience by reading the danger, and blocking any dangerous attempts. Made a key interception to deny Shane Long.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 6 – Showed why he’s been a key member of the team with a decent performance at the back.
Victor Moses: 8 – Got the better of his marker to set up the opening goal. Was effective going forward as well as doing his defensive duties. Made Burnley pay for poor defending by slotting home the eventual winner.
N’Golo Kante: 7 – Did what he does best by protecting his defenders. Wasn’t afraid to get forward and nearly got a rare goal with his blazing long shot.
Tiemoue Bakayoko: 6 – Effective job by the Frenchman, picking up loose balls and breaking up play.
Emerson: 6 – Handed a rare start. Didn’t do much in the first half but redeemed himself by getting the assist for the second goal.
Pedro: 6 – With Eden Hazard on the bench, he showed glimpses of his creativity by beating his markers but struggled to make a serious impact in front of goal.
Olivier Giroud: 6 – Linked up well with Morata, causing problems for Burnley defenders with his runs. Unable to get a clear cut opportunity in front of goal.
Alvaro Morata 4: – Another frustrating night for the Spaniard. Missed a glorious one-on-one chance to double the lead after being put through by Kante.
SUBS:
Eden Hazard: 5 –Didn’t have much time to make an impact but showed his class by beating five defenders before passing to Moses.
Davide Zappacosta: 5 – On for the last few minutes, did his job of preserving the 2-1 lead
