Tribuna/News/Barkley's top playmaking, Burnley's fear of scoring & 5 other under-rated episodes in 1-1 draw

Barkley's top playmaking, Burnley's fear of scoring & 5 other under-rated episodes in 1-1 draw

07 November 2021, 13:04

Chelsea were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Burnley.

But it was not all doom and gloom at the Bridge. The Blues' performance was very decent though as it was poor finishing that let us down.

We re-watched the game and picked a few incidents that may have escaped your attention on the first watch.

Quickfire Chelsea counter

The Blues produced a textbook counter-attack against Burnley early in the game.

It took just two touches to get the ball to Barkley who ran past the halfway line towards the goal.

Ross—who operated as an advanced playmaker on Saturday—set up Hudson-Odoi.

CHO entered the box and unleashed a right-footed effort but Pope saved it:

Callum didn't get it right on the second attempt:

Barkley missile

Ross was literally everywhere on Saturday so it's no surprise he was involved in another episode early in the game.

He received the ball from Jorginho inside the area, ran deeper a bit and seemed ready to hit the ball from outside the box... but then he spotted James raising his arm on the right side:

Reece quickly played the ball back to Barkley:

The midfielder tried a curled effort into the far corner

That was close:

Tuchel v Dyche touchline spat

Barkley challenged a Burnley player:

Both players were hurt:

Dyche was unhappy that Ross didn't get booked or sent off for high boot.

Tuchel was infuriated by Dyche's reaction:

Coaches from both sides were involved, too:

Christensen playmaking

Christensen played a fantastic through ball for James:

But a Burnley defender managed to get to the ball first:

Lovely Barkley ball

It's nice to see Ross in a top form. His technical ability and instincts are absolutely top-notch and he demonstrated it one more time shortly after the break.

Here he receives the ball from Rudiger and Chelsea unleash a counter-attack. Note Ross' positioning — he is unmarked, staying exactly in the pocket of space between Burnley's lines.

Ross carries the ball well into the visitor's third:

CHO makes an incredibly intelligent run and takes Charlie Taylor with him into the box:

This leaves the right-hand side entirely open for James to run into and Barkley feeds the wing-back:

James' effort is blocked by Taylor:

Another good, Barkley-powered counter

Here Barkley (who else?) starts a Chelsea counter with a nice defence-splitting ball to James.

Reece cuts inside and passes to the overlapping Hudson-Odoi:

CHO returns the ball to James:

Reece sees no forward options and plays the ball to Kante

This attack did not lead to a shot but it was another lovely breaking move made possible by Barkley's awareness and James' and Hudson-Odoi's abilities.