Burnley 3-1

Independent:

Cesc Fabregas steals the show as Jose Mourinho's men complete comeback at Turf Moor
 
Burnley 1 (Arfield 14) Chelsea 3 (Costa 17, Schurrle 21, Ivanovic 34)
Sam Wallace

Some games are defined by a goal, some a mistake, some hinge on a referee’s decision and it is a rare one indeed when the abiding memory of the night’s toil is a pass - but then there are not many footballers who can pass a ball like Cesc Fabregas.
 
His assist for Andre Schurrle’s goal, Chelsea’s second of the night amid a 17-minute three-goal blitz, was a reminder of the quality of the man who left Arsenal three years ago to play for the team that passes the ball better than any side on the planet. There were 23 passes before the ball fell to the feet of Fabregas, who understands the speed and geometry of the game as well as anyone.
The performance of Fabregas embodied the difference in quality between the two teams. On one side Burnley, with their exclusively British starting XI and on the other Chelsea, with a team assembled from all over the world on the kind of budget that might be enough to acquire Burnley, never mind the players of Burnley FC.
This is the team that Jose Mourinho built, with those he considered expendable gone and every position covered twice. He has Fabregas alongside Nemanja Matic in a formidable midfield partnership, Diego Costa in attack with Didier Drogba on the bench and a new man between the sticks.
Mourinho chose Thibaut Courtois in goal and so it was that on a cool August evening in Lancashire for the first time in a decade, the odd cup game aside, Petr Cech warmed up as the second-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea. If, as it seems, this is the end of an era for a great goalkeeper then it has been a marvellous Chelsea career, but change is afoot.
Mourinho said that he could not guarantee Courtois would be his first choice all season and that he wanted Cech to stay to compete for his place. “I have known Petr for 10 years,” Mourinho said. “I know he will not relax, he will not sit in a chair and say ‘I have no chance’. He will be exactly the opposite. I am expecting him Wednesday to go to the training ground and fight [for his place].”
There were times in the first half when, having gone a goal behind, Chelsea lived up to the vision that Mourinho has for this club. They were so impressive that they might even have lived up to Roman Abramovich’s vision for the club. Fluid and dominant in that first half period in which they broke the home team, they could afford to coast for much of the second half.
Jose Mourinho saw his side produce an impressive performance in their first match of the season Jose Mourinho saw his side produce an impressive performance in their first match of the season  For Burnley there was the consolation goal before Chelsea had scored their three, nicely taken by Scott Arfield. No repeat, however, of the famous 2009 first-day victory over Manchester United at Turf Moor, the only other time they were in the Premier League. In fact it never truly looked on the cards even when they did take the lead, and Turf Moor could sense it. 
Elsewhere in the Chelsea side, the No 8 shirt worn by Frank Lampard for 13 years adorns Oscar. Filipe Luis and Kurt Zouma were both on the bench. Yet, for all the changes it was Fabregas at No 4 who promised the most in this new era.
Arfield needed one touch to control Matt Taylor’s well-placed cut-back from the goal-line on 14 minutes, and one more to send it past Courtois before the goalkeeper had the time to raise a glove in protest. Mourinho’s defence had got themselves in a mess in the build-up with a bad clearing header, and John Terry playing Burnley onside. They got it together quickly.
The equaliser came four minutes later from Costa when Branislav Ivanovic’s cross from the right took a touch off Jason Shackell, hit the post and dropped nicely for the Chelsea striker to score. That precious first goal for Chelsea strikers has not always come swiftly. It took Fernando Torres 14 games to score his first goal for Chelsea in 2011. This one for Costa came within 17 minutes.
 Diego Costa scored on debut and was unlucky to be booked for what was judged to be a dive  It was the second that lingered long in the mind, however, not least for Fabregas’ ball into the path of the goalscorer Schurrle; a first-time pass that unlocked a whole defence. In the closing stages of the move, Eden Hazard carried the ball forward. From there it went out right to Ivanovic and back in to Fabregas who guided it into the path of the German.
The third was a simple finish for Ivanovic running onto Fabregas’ corner, as Burnley threatened to disintegrate. Before then, Michael Oliver had chosen to book Costa for diving, rather than award him a penalty when he went down taking the ball around goalkeeper Tom Heaton on 30 minutes. The full-back Ben Mee had played his goalkeeper into trouble with a disastrous back pass and Costa had beaten Heaton to it.
On initial viewing it looked as if the striker had thrown himself down, but replays showed that Heaton had connected with Costa’s trailing leg. He had looked for the contact and he had found it and it was one of those penalties that had to be given, however reluctant the referee might feel about it.
Mourinho said that Costa had been told what was expected in the Premier League and “what people don’t like to see”. “The kid presents himself here today with a fantastic attitude, a competitive attitude but clean, polite,” he said. “He has a clear penalty and gets a yellow card. The kid was obviously frustrated. I hope he doesn’t get more unfair decisions. I thought Oliver had a good game but the linesman [Stuart Burt] didn’t support him well in that situation.”
It had been a brutal half hour for Burnley before they finally got in for half-time, and to their credit the home team that came out for the second half did not collapse. In fact at times, they put a bit of pressure on the Chelsea goal. Courtois made a good save from another Arfield strike, and Lukas Jutkiewicz had a shot from the left that Danny Ings got the faintest of touches on.
Mourinho brought Willian on for Schurrle with around 14 minutes remaining to shore the game up. There were still moments in the game when the speed of Chelsea’s movement, orchestrated by Fabregas, had Burnley players off-balance and wrong-footed, although they could not manage the ruthlessness in front of goal of the first half.
Drogba came on for the latter stages of the game and he left at the end having thrown his shirt into the away supporters. Drogba has seen some great Chelsea teams over the years and there is the potential in this one to achieve much. “A new team had to be born” was how Mourinho interpreted his task when he returned last summer, and certainly its first step this season look promising.

Burnley (4-2-3-1): Heaton; Trippier, Shackell, Duff, Mee; Arfield, Jones, Marney, Taylor; Ings, Jutkiewicz.      
Subs: Jutkiewicz/Barnes 70; Taylor/Kightly 70, Sordell/Ings 82


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Costa.


Subs: Willian/Schurrle 78, Mikel/Oscar 82, Drogba/Hazard 84
Booked: Burnley Sordell Chelsea Costa
Referee: M Oliver
Man of the match: Fabregas
Rating: 6
Attendance: 26,099

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Guardian:


Cesc Fábregas inspires Chelsea to opening Premier League win at Burnley
Burnley 1 Chelsea 3


Daniel Taylor at Turf Moor


It turned out to be a deception. Burnley had taken the lead and, briefly, their supporters must have dared wonder whether they would be talking about Scott Arfield’s goal in years to come with the fondness they reserve for Robbie Blake’s finest moment for the club. Then Chelsea snapped them out of their dreams, ruthlessly and brilliantly. It was pass-them-to-death football during that blitz of retaliatory strikes and, by the time they were done, José Mourinho’s team had left the team that came up from the Championship looking in need of smelling salts.
Another side might have been badly affected by that early setback, in a strange environment, with an excitable home crowd. Mourinho’s players simply rolled up their sleeves and set about turning the game upside down. Diego Costa, on his first Premier League start, quickly settled them down with the equaliser. They took the lead four minutes later when André Schürrle finished off a wonderful exchange of passes and they were rampant by the time Branislav Ivanovic added the third. Cesc Fábregas was superb on his re-introduction to English football and there was a vibrancy to Chelsea’s attacking that was not always evident last season.
Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager, talked later about a side “with a touch of arrogance”. He meant it as a compliment and Mourinho’s team could be excused for slacking off in the second half when the game was effectively over as a contest. Chelsea still left the clear impression that the arrival of Costa and, in particular, Fábregas had already improved them.
Dyche can take a flicker of encouragement from the way the team he described as “the biggest underdogs in the history of the league” bared their teeth early on. Unfortunately for them, they also quickly discovered Chelsea are not a side to wilt the moment something goes wrong. “Emotionally we were not affected,” Mourinho said. “We never lost our composure.”
Their response was a reminder to Burnley about the gulf between the sides they now have to face compared with last season. It was a blur of speed and movement and a lesson, too, about what can happen when a team built for £5m bumps into one with a valuation of £190m. Burnley are simply not accustomed to playing sides that move the ball this devastatingly.
Chelsea’s equaliser came within four minutes when Ivanovic broke forward on the right. His low centre took a slight flick off Michael Duff and then went across the goalmouth before coming back off the post. From six yards Costa had his first chance of the evening. He was on the ball in a flash, scoring emphatically with his left foot.
If that carried a touch of good fortune, the next goal left Chelsea’s opponents dizzy. Eden Hazard’s mazy run through the middle started the move. Ivanovic turned the ball into Fábregas and the former Arsenal and Barcelona player clipped a beautifully weighted pass into Schürrle’s path. Schürrle had anticipated what was coming and did not break stride as he stroked the ball past Tom Heaton.
Burnley’s ordeal might have been worse but for the referee, Michael Oliver, deciding Costa had dived when he intercepted Ben Mee’s back-pass in front of Burnley’s goalkeeper. Costa looked appalled, as strikers always do in those moments, but it was only a passing irritation and within three minutes Fábregas had swung over a corner from the left for Ivanovic to volley in Chelsea’s third goal.
For Burnley the first lesson must be that they cannot continue defending this obligingly. The tone was set in the fourth minute when the right-back Kieran Tripper underhit a pass to Heaton and the mistake almost led to Schürrle scoring. Mee was culpable for losing Ivanovic for his goal and Dyche, who talked afterwards about urgently needing to strengthen his squad, must have been startled by the frequency of their lapses.
There are walls at Turf Moor lined with the match reports – “Fergie Tamed” – from that night, the last time they began a Premier League season, when Blake lashed the winning goal into the roof of Manchester United’s net. “Our Turf,” was the message in the claret and blue mosaic in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand and Arfield’s 14th-minute strike fleetingly raised the possibility of another shock. A free transfer from Huddersfield Town last year, Arfield had taken the goal brilliantly, firing through a crowded penalty area to beat the static Thibaut Courtois. After that, however, Burnley did not really test Courtois, on the night he took over from Petr Cech as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper, until early in the second half when he palmed away another Arfield effort.
Didier Drogba, back at the club where he fits best, came on as a second-half substitute and showed a glimpse of his old gifts, taking down Courtois’s long kick on his knee and volleying a shot just wide with his next touch. Majestic in the first half, comfortable in the second, Chelsea look like a team who mean business

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Telegraph:


Burnley 1 Chelsea 3: Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas inspire Jose Mourinho's side to impressive win


By  Henry Winter, Football Correspondent, Turf Moor


It was scarcely 20 miles away from here, over at Bolton Wanderers, that Cesc Fabregas said farewell to English football in a 2011 defeat with Arsenal.
He returned to the Premier League in style on Monday night, orchestrating victory on his Chelsea debut, showing why Jose Mourinho’s side are such heavyweight challengers for the title, and producing one particularly breathtaking touch that was a privilege to bear witness to.
It came after 21 minutes with the score at 1-1, Diego Costa having equalised Scott Arfield’s shock opener. As a blue pyro spread smoke from in front of the David Fishwick Stand housing the Chelsea fans, their team scored a goal of total beauty down the other end, a move accelerated by Fabregas in midfield and which he was to embellish even more.
As Eden Hazard took up the running, dribbling through Burnley’s midfield, Fabregas ghosted towards the edge of the area. Hazard laid the ball right to Branislav Ivanovic, who spotted that Fabregas was unmarked. Ivanovic stroked the ball inside and Fabregas’s response sent Chelsea fans into raptures and professionals, past and present, posting eulogies on Twitter.
The joy of Cesc’s touch was not simply the deft technique, the cushioning of the ball; it was also Fabregas’s awareness of André Schürrle’s run. The German advanced on to a ball so tempting that it should have come with a gilt edge and embossed with the word INVITATION. Schürrle calmly drove it past Tom Heaton.
Premier League audiences have been treated to many sumptuous assists down the years, a couple of gems including Steven Gerrard’s pass with the outside of the boot to John Arne Riise at Highbury in 2002, a delivery that totally bemused Arsenal, and Dennis Bergkamp’s threaded pass to Freddie Ljungberg against Bolton the same year. Fabregas’s assist was in that elevated category.
As Chelsea waved a banner reading “Cesc is blue”, the Spaniard graced central midfield, alongside Nemanja Matic but with licence to roam forward. He kept taking the ball on the half-turn, always happy to take possession when under pressure, slipping away from Burnley markers, always with his head up looking for team-mates’ movement.
Fabregas’s desire to impress after a frustrating time used out of position at Barcelona is considerable, giving Chelsea further confidence that they can wrest the Premier League title from Manchester City. No wonder Jose Mourinho was so keen to bring him in.
“I know clearly what the player is because we were so long in the same league,’’ said Mourinho. “He moved to Spain also so for the last 10 years we have been in the same league for six or seven. I know exactly what he will bring. For Barcelona he was the fake nine, the No 10 and winger but I know and he knows what is his best position so he is giving exactly what we need. Quick thinking in midfield. He brings people in the same direction. I am really happy.
“I agree with Cesc being man of the match because he and Matic controlled the game and dictated the intensity of the game. They decided how to control the pace. They were both good brains in this team and I am happy with that because last season we could not control the game as we controlled today.”
This was an important win for Chelsea, not simply to keep pace with the three other contenders for the title, Arsenal, Liverpool and City, but also to prove they could dismiss less celebrated opponents, a costly issue last season. Burnley caused them trouble, especially the excellent Arfield, who kept running at Chelsea’s defence. If Burnley play all season with the depth of belief espoused by Arfield, they have a chance of staying up.
When Matthew Taylor cut the ball back from the left after 14 minutes, Chelsea were far too sluggish in closing down Arfield. He controlled the ball with his right, instantly killing the momentum. As Gary Cahill ventured towards him, Arfield was too quick, sending the ball looping at speed past Thibaut Courtois.
But the newcomers to the Premier League were then swept away by Chelsea’s new boys. Within three minutes of Arfield’s strike, Costa levelled. Fabregas flicked the ball to Ivanovic, whose cross from the right clipped Heaton’s right-hand upright and dropped obligingly to Costa. His finish was unerring, the ball driven into the net. Chelsea have the line-leading forward they need; now they must keep Costa fit. Four minutes later, Fabregas teed up Schürrle.
Chelsea were then understandably frustrated that Costa was then cautioned by Michael Oliver for diving; lurking on the off-chance that Ben Mee would underhit his back pass, Costa was definitely caught by Heaton but clearly maximised the contact. The fact remains that he was caught, that it would have been a free-kick to Chelsea anywhere else on the field, and that Costa was unlucky to be booked.
Refusing to be distracted by the injustice, Chelsea simply took their annoyance out on Burnley’s defence. Michael Duff conceded a corner, that Fabregas curled into the six-yard box for Ivanovic to volley home. It was wretched marking by Burnley.
Chelsea fans went through their song book, singing about Steven Gerrard’s costly slip last season, about Dennis Wise scoring at the San Siro and also saluting Courtois. “Thibaut, Thibaut, give us a wave,’’ they chanted. It felt a significant moment in Chelsea’s history, a watershed for the Blues.
Petr Cech has served Chelsea so well but time waits for no man. Chelsea also risked losing Courtois if he was not given his chance after excelling on loan at Atlético Madrid. Cech may be wise to respond to Paris St-Germain’s interest; Courtois already looks established. He was commanding coming off his line to take crosses, and then threw himself athletically to his right to keep out a second-half Arfield shot.
Chelsea fans were also saluting two long-serving players who left in the summer. They sang about Ashley Cole winning the European Cup, and about “Super Frankie Lampard”; so much for any bitterness about his current switch to Manchester City en route to New York. There was even time for Didier Drogba to come on, and then throw his shirt into the crowd. So many positives for Chelsea, the list headed by “that” pass from Fabregas.

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Times:

Impressive Cesc Fàbregas sets rhythm after night starts on flat note

Oliver Kay Chief Football Correspondent
Burnley 1 Chelsea 3


In the past three seasons at Barcelona, the club he regarded as his spiritual home, Cesc Fàbregas never truly felt the anticipated sense of belonging. Perhaps, after all, he is more at ease on the Barclays Premier League stage, to which he made a highly accomplished return last night in the unfamiliar blue shirt of Chelsea.
True, there are more daunting stages than Turf Moor and more demanding opponents than Burnley, but you will not see many players look so comfortable in a new team so quickly as Fàbregas appeared last night. His sublime pass to lay on Chelsea’s second goal, for Andre Schürrle, was the undisputed highlight of the game — indeed it could end up as a highlight of the whole season — but all evening Fàbregas’s performance oozed a fluent quality that Chelsea have lacked in possession over recent seasons.
At times in the first half, it almost seemed cruel on Burnley. Having dared to take an early lead through Scott Arfield, Sean Dyche’s team simply could not cope with the speed and precision with which Chelsea re-established command. Twenty minutes after falling behind, Chelsea were 3-1 up, Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic scoring either side of that exquisite Fàbregas-Schürrle link-up, and briefly it seemed as if Burnley might be subjected to a rout on their return to the Premier League.
As it transpired, Chelsea settled at three and Dyche, known locally as “the Ginger Mourinho”, received some kind words about his team from the visiting manager. Mourinho, the original version, was delighted by just about every aspect of his team’s performance: their response to falling behind, the quality of their passing, the ruthlessness of their finishing, the professionalism with which they closed out the victory and the assured debuts from Thibaut Courtois, Costa and above all Fàbregas.
If the speed of Fàbregas’s reintegration to English football is no surprise, perhaps that just illustrates why the former Arsenal captain represented that rare thing: a low-risk, high-class acquisition.
“When the player is your first choice, it is difficult to make a mistake,” Mourinho said. “Fàbregas was our first choice for that position. I know clearly what the player is because we were so long in the same league. I knew exactly what he would bring. I know and he knows his best position, so he is giving exactly what we need: quick-thinking in midfield.”
It was sluggishness of movement in the Chelsea defence, though, that Burnley exploited in the 14th minute. The goal came after Chelsea failed to clear their lines from a corner and were slow to react when the ball was sent back out to Matthew Taylor on the left-hand side. Taylor was given the time and space to line up his cross, cleverly looking beyond the congested six-yard box and picking out Arfield on the edge of the penalty area. Arfield, again, was afforded too much time and space, lining up a right-foot shot that flew past Courtois and into the roof of the Chelsea net.
Briefly, very briefly, Burnley’s supporters contemplated a repeat of the previous occasion that top-tier football returned to this corner of east Lancashire. Five years ago today, in their first top-flight game at Turf Moor since 1976, Burnley beat Manchester United 1-0 on an evening that the locals remember as fondly for Brian Jensen’s goalkeeping heroics as for Robbie Blake’s spectacular winning goal.
Chelsea’s players, though, dusted themselves down and started again. Within three minutes they had restored parity. After a patient build-up, the pace quickened on the edge of the Burnley penalty area. Fàbregas played a back-heel to the overlapping Ivanovic, whose cross was knocked against the frame of the Burnley goal by Jason Shackell, stretching in desperation. The rebound fell to Costa, who eagerly took the opportunity to score his first goal in English football.
Another four minutes passed before that superb second Chelsea goal. This time there were 24 passes in the build-up, the last of them stunning. Receiving the ball from Ivanovic just outside the Burnley penalty area, in a central position, Fàbregas clipped an exquisite first-time pass into the path of Schürrle, who followed a perfectly timed run with a crisp finish to make it 2-1.
No doubt Dyche had prepared his players, mentally as well as tactically, for how to react in the event of falling behind, but for ten minutes or more Burnley looked ragged, adding to their problems with some careless defending. Ben Mee, the left back, was having a particularly tough time, struggling with the speed of Ivanovic and Schürrle, attacking down his flank.
After half an hour, Mee underhit a back-pass, which was anticipated and intercepted by Costa. The Chelsea forward took the ball around Heaton and was felled by the goalkeeper’s sprawling challenge. Rather than award a penalty, Michael Oliver, the referee, booked Costa for diving — harsh on the Chelsea forward and a let-off for Burnley.
Respite for the home team was short-lived. On 34 minutes, Fàbregas claimed another assist, this time with a corner kick that was inexplicably missed by Burnley’s defenders at the near post and converted at knee height by Ivanovic, left unmarked in the six-yard box.
At times the gulf in quality looked as great as the two teams’ respective transfer outlays and wage bills would imply, but Burnley acquitted themselves well after half-time without seriously threatening to claw back the deficit. Danny Ings and Lukas Jutkiewicz showed promise in attack, but the main threat remained Arfield, whose curling shot was well saved by Courtois early in the second period.
In reality, the second half became a non-event — something that tends to delight Mourinho when his teams have established a comfortable winning margin — and notable only for the introduction of Didier Drogba, to the acclaim of the Chelsea fans.
There were also songs of adulation for two departed legends, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, but the away supporters already had a new idol to laud. To the discomfort of Arsenal fans everywhere, Cesc Fàbregas is already looking good in Chelsea blue.

Burnley (4-4-2): T Heaton — K Trippier, M Duff, J Shackell, B Mee — S Arfield, D Marney, D Jones, M Taylor (sub: M Kightly, 70min) — L Jutkiewicz (sub: A Barnes, 70), D Ings (sub: M Sordell, 82). Substitutes not used: M Gilks, K Long, C Dummigan, R Wallace. Booked: Sordell.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): T Courtois — B Ivanovic, G Cahill, J Terry, C Azpilicueta — F Fàbregas, N Matic — A Schürrle (sub: Willian, 78), Oscar (sub: J O Mikel, 82), E Hazard (sub: D Drogba, 84) — D Costa. Substitutes not used: P Cech, Filipe Luis, K Zouma, F Torres. Booked: Costa.
Referee: M Oliver.

How Chelsea’s new boys shaped up
Thibaut Courtois
 Could hardly be faulted for Burnley’s goal, a rasping shot from Arfield, and looked assured thereafter, including a fine save from the same player in the second half.
Cesc Fàbregas
 The high point of his Chelsea debut was that sublime assist for the second goal, but he was highly impressive in everything he did.
Diego Costa
 His goal was straightforward, but Mourinho will be more satisfied by the forward’s workrate and all-round display. Harshly booked for diving when clipped.

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Mail:


Burnley 1-3 Chelsea: Diego Costa, Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic goals give Jose Mourinho's side victory at Turf Moor
By Martin Samuel


Some will cite the financial gulf between the teams, others the technical divide, but the bottom line problem for Burnley on Monday night was that they had not seen anything like this. There were moments, the second goal in particular, when Chelsea took their football to a new level of excellence under Jose Mourinho, second time around. And dealing with that must be very unnerving for a group of players fresh to the Premier League.
Only Michael Duff has survived at Turf Moor from the last time Burnley were part of the elite. He is 36. Of course, the increased challenge of the Premier League is only to be expected. But nothing could prepare Sean Dyche’s team for the moment when the full potential of players like Eden Hazard, Andre Schurrle and Cesc Fabregas was unleashed. They won’t have been confronted by the terrifying reality of a Champions League elite team before. They won’t have faced a mind as nimble as that of Fabregas, a full-back as dangerous as Branislav Ivanovic, or a finisher as clinical as Diego Costa. The Championship, we are frequently told, is a tough league – but not tough like this. Not in a way that challenges mentally, physically, technically, like the Premier League at its best. Burnley won’t have been confronted by a run like the one produced by Hazard for the second goal, or the pass delivered by Fabregas moments later.
It was the second goal that drove the message home, while also making clear the change in Chelsea season on season. It was more than just a thing of beauty. It was a ten-second showcase of all the damage that Mourinho’s little horse can now do, the new variations to Chelsea’s play, the many layers to their game. It comprised a scintillating dribble from Hazard, an intelligent overlap by Ivanovic, a killer pass from Fabregas, and a finish from Schurrle that brought memories of balmy nights in Brazil to a wet Burnley in the dwindling warmth of an English summer.
Schurrle deserves enormous credit for the timing of his run, but it was only given meaning by the perfect ambition of Fabregas’ pass. He could have shot, he could have attempted something easier. Instead he went eye of the needle through Burnley’s startled defence. Will Arsene Wenger regret not taking up the option on Fabregas’ return? If so, he will be too stubborn to admit it, no doubt. Carry on like this, however, and the evidence will be overwhelming. Fabregas was Chelsea’s best player – even contributing a cheeky back-heel to the build-up to the first goal as well as the corner for the third. Like Ivanovic, he was involved in all three.
Yet it was the second that will live in the memory. It is too early to talk of goals of the season, obviously, but the reaction around Turf Moor suggested the consequences of promotion suddenly got very real in the 21st minute. As for Dyche’s team, it took them until close to half-time to recover.
The immediate aftermath was a succession of errors, culminating in a third Chelsea goal and including a passage of play that should have ended in a Chelsea penalty, but instead brought a booking for Diego Costa. More than icy wind and rain in mid-August, that was his welcome to the Premier League.
The controversy occurred in the 30th minute when left back Ben Mee, perhaps rattled by the second goal he had just witnessed, played a woeful back pass to goalkeeper Tom Heaton that died halfway and was pounced on by Costa. Heaton came charging from his line, threw himself at the advancing striker and Costa fell, perhaps dramatically. At first glance it looked a penalty, on the replay contact appeared minimal, if it happened at all. Yet here’s the rub. Undoubtedly, there is no way Costa could have continued his run given Heaton’s challenge. He had to jump, and lose control of the ball. Yes, he appeared to exaggerate his tumble on the other side, but how can it be fair that a goalkeeper can come out as madly as Heaton did, and end up as the wronged party? Costa looked incredulous as referee Michael Oliver brandished his yellow card with utmost pomposity. Maybe he should have let Heaton take him out, maybe break a leg. Would that have seen justice done?
If Chelsea were feeling hard done by, their grudging mood was not allowed to fester long. Just two further minutes had elapsed when they established an unassailable lead. Fabregas took the corner from the left and Burnley’s back line were guilty of quite appalling marking, allowing Ivanovic to run into the six-yard box unmarked and meet the ball on the volley for a simple conversion. Burnley’s defensive work would not have passed muster in League Two, let alone in this rarefied atmosphere. Turf Moor fell uncommonly silent. It was going to be a long night; perhaps a long season.
If there is consolation it is that few teams in the Premier League have Chelsea’ s imagination, firepower and invention. Manchester United are here next in the Premier League, and they are certainly not in Chelsea’s class yet. Burnley can also take solace from having struck the first blow, with a quite magnificent goal after 14 minutes. More of that, and they might be alright.
The way the home team recycled a headed clearance – a lovely pass from midfield picking out Matthew Taylor on the left, making an intelligent run that flummoxed Chelsea’s offside trap – was certainly Premier League standard. Even more so, the way Taylor assessed the situation and cut back the perfect pass to Scott Arfield on the edge of the penalty area.
Arfield, a free transfer from Huddersfield Town, typifies the wealth gap between these clubs, yet his finish would not have looked out of place in Chelsea blue – a lovely shot, powerful and perfectly placed, reducing the much-vaunted Thibaut Courtois to the status of observer in goal.
That it served only to rile Chelsea was perhaps unfortunate. Having made a relatively slow start – a deflected shot by Schurrle had been their only attempt at goal – they suddenly sprang to life. Within three minutes, Ivanovic burst down the right flank – the beleaguered Mee having a difficult time of it again – and his cross eluded all in the penalty area, including goalkeeper Heaton. The ball struck the foot of the far post and rebounded into the path of Costa. A £32m striker does not miss from there. To be fair there are a few over Hackney Marshes who could have had a fair swing at it. Even so, Costa’s decisiveness was impressive. No attempt to finesse, no gilding the lily. He looked up and – bang – Chelsea were level.
It is to Burnley’s credit that even after the third had gone in, they were not done. Danny Ings had a volley from a Taylor cross go wide moments before half-time, and another shot saved by Courtois soon after. Yet the outcome was never in doubt. One imagined that if Burnley had drawn close, Chelsea would have simply swept down the other end and restored logic to the scoreline. The gap between the teams only reflected the gap on the balance sheet. Chelsea’s team was worth close to £200m more, and you get what you pay for these days.
So the first round of matches ends with Chelsea on top. Ominous, that. Jose Mourinho is a front-runner and his previous title wins at Stamford Bridge were a procession. This season? Well, start as you mean to go on seemed to be the motto here. On this form, they will take some stopping.
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Express:

Burnley 1 - Chelsea 3: Romance turfed out as Burnley are given a reality check by Chelsea


THERE is only so much time for romance in the modern Premier League.
By: John Dillon


Just three minutes, in fact, were allowed at Turf Moor last night before Chelsea wiped out the briefly flickering fancies of Burnley and spelled out a message of class and authority which will probably last all season long.
The first league table has been compiled. Even though it is only one match old, Chelsea first and Manchester City second may well still be the shape of things come next May.
Three goals inside 17 minutes, after Burnley had taken a shock 13th-minute lead, and performances brimming with quality from men like Cesc Fabregas, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic spelled out the ominous message Jose Mourinho wants to transmit throughout the second season of his return to Stamford Bridge.
There was also a debut goal from the new striker, Diego Costa, which equalised the stunning opener from Scott Arfield.
There was never going to be an upset after that, though. Chelsea simply cruised back into command and now the shape of the season may have already been set.
Nobody at Burnley had any illusions about the season-long battle which surely awaits them.
It is difficult to avoid being patronising when their stature is discussed. But surely, they will enjoy the adventure, whatever happens.
For Mourinho, there is no such leeway on offer. No coach survives two seasons at Stamford Bridge without delivering silverware.
After his barren first season back in command, the Russian owner Roman Abramovich is surely thinking in terms of the title and the Champions League, rather than sideshow trophies.
For that reason, £32million signing Costa came here on this rain-lashed evening as the standard bearer of the team Mourinho says he has now re-built to his satisfaction.
The Portuguese Prince of the dug-out made another big statement when he selected Thibaut Courtois in goal ahead of Petr Cech.
It required no more than 13 minutes of this initially thumping night in Lancashire for the Belgian Courtois to experience the feeling of conceding his first Premier League goal.
It took no longer than three more minutes, however, for Costa to equalise Arfield’s powerful opening goal, which had sent the place into an unexpectedly early bout of ecstasy.
Mourinho would surely have been angered by the hesitancy which infected his defence after a cleared corner was returned to Burnley’s Matt Taylor, who had surged into space on the left.
When the resulting cross found Arfield at the edge of the box, he struck the ball emphatically to curl it around the leaping Gary Cahill and past Courtois. This was the stuff of small-town dreams, but the delirium was brief.
German World Cup winner Schurrle instigated Chelsea’s first threat with a wickedly dipping shot in the fourth minute, which whipped just past Tom Heaton’s right-hand post.
Three minutes after Arfield struck, Branislav Ivanovic got forward to direct a cross from the right which drifted across the home team’s six-yard box to strike the opposite post. It then fell invitingly for Costa to tuck home from six yards.
Chelsea were ahead after 21 minutes when Fabregas showed how important he will be to Mourinho’s new plans, delivering a classy, deft touch from the edge of the box which sent Schurrle bounding forward to finish smoothly.
On both counts, this move was a dramatic illustration to Burnley of the standards they must take on during the coming nine months. It also made plain why Chelsea have been installed as the title favourites.
By the 33rd minute, romance appeared to have fled the place, with Ivanovic touching in Chelsea’s third goal direct from Fabregas’s left-wing corner.
Despite the gulf, there was no diminishing of Burnley’s spirit. Arfield showed it in the 48th minute when he looped in another tricky shot from the edge of the box.
This time, Courtois scrambled to push it away. The fairy-tale upset stuff is meant only for cup ties these days. It seemed that the pattern of the Premier League season to come was spelled out here – for both teams.
Burnley (4-4-2): Heaton; Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee; Arfield, Marney, Jones, Taylor (Kightly 70); Jutkiewicz (Barnes 70), Ings (Sordell 82). Booked: Sordell. Goal: Arfield 14. NEXT UP: Swansea (a) Sat, PL.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilcueta; Fabregas, Matic; Schurrle (Willian 78), Oscar (Mikel 82), Hazard (Drogba 83); Costa. Booked: Costa. Goals: Costa 17, Schurrle 21, Ivanovic 34. NEXT UP: Leicester (h) Sat, PL.
Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland).

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Star:
Jose has Fab start as Chelsea cruise past Burnley
By Chris McKenna

And the £30m summer signing from Barcelona showed his genius last night on a stunning return to England for the former Arsenal midfielder.
Fabregas was a shock signing for the Blues as the ex-Gunner was reportedly turned down by his old boss Arsene Wenger and also Manchester United.
And his dazzling debut for Chelsea makes that decision look even more mind-boggling for the transfer thinkers at those clubs, especially the creativity-starved United.
But their loss is Chelsea’s brain gain and Fabregas’ quick-thinking helped create all three Blues’ goals as they came from behind to spoil Burnley’s big return to the top flight.
It had all started so well for the Clarets when Scott Arfield fired them into an early lead.
Everything about this game’s opening moments rekindled memories of the Clarets’ first ever Premier League game at Turf Moor back in 2009.
The atmosphere was deafening and intimidating as the home fans held up a mosaic reading “Our Turf” when the teams walked out.
There was an early warning for Jose Mourinho’s side amid the frantic start that the team led by the man dubbed the “Ginger Mourinho” were up for this.
Summer signing Lukas Jutkiewicz waltzed through the Chelsea defence right in front of the visiting supporters before lashing a shot into the side netting for Sean Dyche’s men.
But in the 14th minute, the noise level somehow went up at this character-filled Lancashire ground when Arfield rifled in the stunning opener.
A cross from Matt Taylor after Chelsea failed to clear a corner found the former Huddersfield Town man and he blasted in.
For Burnley it felt like this could be a night similar to when Robbie Blake scored the stunner that shocked United in 2009.
But Chelsea were in no mood to allow themselves to be forever in Burnley folklore like United and were level just three minutes later.
While a free signing from Huddersfield scored Burnley’s opener, a £32m man from Atletico Madrid got Chelsea’s just to remind everyone of the gulf in spending between the two.
Ivanovic’s cross, after a brilliant back heel from Fabregas, was deflected onto the post by Michael Duff, but Diego Costa was on hand to power in the rebound and grab a debut goal.
Burnley’s dream start then turned into a nightmare when the Blues took the lead in the 21st minute.
Mourinho ‘brains’ claim before the game was given the perfect case study when Fabregas provided a stunning pass to slice open the Burnley back line and set up Andre Schurrle.
Ivanovic pinged a ball across and the Spaniard showed his football intelligence to play a first time pass on the volley into the German international, who then beat the offside trap before sliding home.
Chelsea could have had a penalty on the half hour mark when a misplaced back pass from Ben Mee fell into the path of the ever-threatening Costa, but the Spain striker was booked by referee Michael Oliver for diving.
The Blues would not have to wait long for the third as Fabregas sprinkled yet more magic on his return to the Premier League after a three-year hiatus at Barcelona.
The former Arsenal midfielder swung in a dangerous corner and Ivanovic skipped past his marker to volley home in the 34th minute.
The euphoria that had swept around Turf Moor early on was long gone, as the Spanish flair from Fabregas strangled the life out of the previously buoyant atmosphere.
The Clarets fans were given a brief bit of hope when Arfield curled goalwards soon after the break, but Thibaut Courtois proved Blues boss Mourinho right for picking him over Petr Cech with a superb save.
The Belgium keeper may have done better with Burnley’s goal, but the composure shown on a number of occasions to collect crosses as the hosts tried unsuccessfully to create from wide was impressive.
With chances for both drying up, there was time for the late introduction of Didier Drogba for his second Chelsea debut but there was no need for any drama for the man who has provided so much.
The starting line-up worth almost £200m eased past the £5m side.
The £32m of that spent on Costa has been seen by many as the signing that will get the goals that cost Chelsea the title last season.
But there has to be someone there to provide for Costa and co, and the £30m splashed out on Fabregas may prove Mourinho’s mind is as sharp as his creative midfielder.

BURNLEY (4-4-2): Heaton; Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee; Taylor (Kightly 70), Marney, Jones, Arfield; Ings (Sordell 82), Jutkiewicz (Barnes 70). Subs: Gilks, Dummigan, Long, Wallace, Sordell.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Schurrle (Willian 74), Oscar (Mikel 82), Hazard (Drogba 84); Costa. Subs: Cech, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Mikel, Torres, Drogba.
Referee: Michael Oliver