Burnley 1-1

Independent:
Ben Mee earns Clarets shock draw at league leading Blues after Nemanja Matic was sent off
 
Chelsea 1 Burnley 1
Miguel Delaney  

In the end, Burnley took Chelsea’s “game for equality” rather literally, although Jose Mourinho was again left furious over perceived unfair treatment of his side as they slipped to a shock draw following Nemanja Matic’s red card and a series of penalty calls.

The Serbia midfielder will receive a three-game and miss next Sunday’s League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur following his dismissal for a furious reaction to Ashley Barnes’ 69th-minute challenge. Thereafter, Burnley pressed on and claimed an equaliser to Branislav Ivanovic’s opener through Ben Mee’s late header.
The frustration was all the greater for the league leaders because they had seemed in such control during a match in which little was happening beyond the penalty calls. That was reflected in Mourinho’s comments, even if they were intended to describe the drab nature of the game.
“This game had four crucial moments,” he said. “Minute 30, minute 33, minute 43 and minute 69. This is the story of the game.”
Mourinho was referring to, in order, a shove by Barnes, a handball in the box by Michael Kightly, a push from Michael Keane on Diego Costa in the area and the Matic red card, which proved pivotal.
The Chelsea midfielder had challenged Barnes, only for the Burnley player to leave his studs up. Matic was caught and immediately jumped to his feet before shoving Barnes.  Branislav Ivanovic headed Chelsea into an early lead after good work from Eden Hazard 
Burnley manager Sean Dyche called it a “coming together”, although he admitted he’d still seen the incident only once. Mourinho had far stronger words about the incident as well as Barnes and referee Martin Atkinson.
“Minute 69 has a big relation with minute 30 because normally the player, if I can call him a player, was involved in minute 30 and minute 31 should be in the shower.
“No minute 69 if the man in charge does his job in minute 30.”
When asked if Chelsea would appeal against Matic’s dismissal, Mourinho responded sarcastically.
“Have you ever seen Chelsea win an appeal? I don’t remember.”
He also stated he couldn’t remember “a run like this” when asked about a series of perceived incorrect calls going against Chelsea.
Dyche responded with laughter when asked about the 30th-minute incident Barnes was involved in.
“Involved in what, playing football?” Have they anything else [to complain about]? Is the grass too short?
“C’est la vie,” the Burnley manager quipped. “Over a season, we all know, we hope, it brings balance.”  Chelsea were cruising until Nemanja Matic reacted badly to a terrible Ashley Barnes tackle 
“There was more to the game than that. I thought we were excellent. I felt we deserved a point.”
There could be no disputing Burnley’s grit and bravery, even if Mourinho did have justifiable complaints against the decisions that went against his team.
The league leaders should still have put the game out of sight and this was a poor two points dropped, especially since they started well.
Chelsea were ahead after 14 minutes, with Juan Cuadrado heavily involved on what was a productive first start. He fed Eden Hazard, who danced through the Burnley defence to set up Ivanovic for what seemed yet another key goal.
He stabbed it past Tom Heaton, and Chelsea proceeded to control the game. Mourinho would say they would have been out of sight had it not been for the Kightly and Keane decisions, but Cuadrado could have added a second in the second half, only for Mee to divert the ball away.
At that point, it didn’t seem like it would be costly. Then, as a result of one challenge, chaos ensued.
If Atkinson can be criticised for the decision, however, Burnley must be praised for taking full advantage. They quickly went for Chelsea.  Benn Mee powered home a late header to give Burnley a shock point 
On 81 minutes, they had their reward as Mee got above the home back line to head past Thibaut Courtois.
“We want to attack the game,” Dyche said. “Whatever happens in a season, you don’t want to regret anything. We’ve had a go in every game bar Arsenal away but it doesn’t suit us.”
They could have won it as Danny Ings blazed over a late chance.
“Let’s not get greedy,” Dyche laughed, in reference to that. Mourinho was not smiling, as he felt his side deserved to get a lot more.

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Filipe Luis (Drogba, 86); Matic, Fabregas; Cuadrado (Willian, 63), Oscar (Ramires, 72), Hazard; Costas.
Burnley: (4-5-1) Heateon; Trippier, Keane Shackell, Mee; Boyd, Arfield, Barnes, Jones, Kightly (Vokes, 79); Ings.

Referee: Martin Atkinson.
Man of the match: Hazard (Chelsea).
Match rating: 5/10

=============

Observer:

Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic sent off as Ben Mee earns Burnley a draw
Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley

Paul Doyle

Perhaps Chelsea should have expected a deviation from their script. After all, the week had begun with the club revealing they had chosen this match to mark their second annual equality day but that announcement was soon drowned out by howls of disgust after a handful of their fans exposed themselves as racist oafs on the Paris Métro before Tuesday’s Champions League game with Paris Saint-Germain. An uneventful return to action on the pitch would have been welcome but instead Chelsea were denied two points by Burnley in a game that ended in ugly recriminations.
It would be a stretch to say that Chelsea’s title charge came off the rails here but it did stall, at least. José Mourinho’s side lost not only points but also a key player, with Nemanja Matic being sent off in the second half for reacting violently to a dangerous challenge by Ashley Barnes. Chelsea were leading at that point thanks to Branislav Ivanovic’s goal in the first half but Burnley equalised against the 10 men when Ben Mee headed in from a corner nine minutes from time.
Both sides sought a decisive goal in a frenetic finish but ultimately the league leaders and the side fighting relegation shared the points and Mourinho wound up making dark allusions to the influence of officials.
 
Chelsea had wanted to send out positive messages – first to society, as, in the match programme and on giant screens at Stamford Bridge, various senior figures, including John Terry, condemned the idiocy of the fans on the Métro, and a group of supporters in the Shed End held aloft a home-made banner declaring “Black or white, we’re all Blue”; and second to Manchester City, who would have kicked off their evening match against Newcastle United 10 points adrift if Chelsea registered the expected victory.
Events on the pitch began promisingly for the hosts. The Burnley goalkeeper, Tom Heaton, was forced into a one-handed save in the fifth minute when Juan Cuadrado sent a header towards goal from 15 yards after meeting a cross from Filipe Luís. But all season Burnley have been on a mission to subvert the established order and Sean Dyche’s gallant band of rebels soon showed their teeth in the sixth minute when Barnes’s fine volley was well saved by Thibault Courtois.
For all their laudable attributes, Burnley do not have a player of Eden Hazard’s ingenuity. Few teams do. In the 14th minute the dazzling Belgian showcased his rare skills by skedaddling past three defenders in the penalty area before pulling the ball back for Ivanovic to tuck into the net from close range. That was a repetition of one Parisian event Chelsea did not mind seeing again, with this goal taking the defender’s tally for the season to six.
 
Burnley continued to pose problems but were kept mostly at arm’s length by Chelsea. Courtois made another stop from a long-range effort from Barnes. Barnes was then involved in a challenge with Ivanovic that Mourinho suggested should have resulted in a dismissal for the visitor but the referee saw nothing wrong.
Diego Costa, as in Paris, was struggling to rediscover the form he showed before his three-game suspension but in the 32nd minute he did well to find Cuadrado, who set up Ivanovic for another shot, this time from 20 yards. The Serb’s drive was blocked by Michael Kightly’s flailing arm and Chelsea demanded a penalty, but Martin Atkinson seemingly deemed it accidental.
Chelsea appealed in the 43rd minute when Costa collapsed in the box following contact from Jason Shackell. Mourinho, who claims his striker gets a raw deal from officials, threw his arms to the skies in supposed disbelief when the referee waved play on, but the decision seemed fair – Shackell’s hands did touch Costa but it was hardly the sort of shove that would, for example, prevent a commuter from boarding a train.
Chelsea improved at the start of the second half, though Burnley were the first to threaten a goal. In the 50th minute Barnes brought Courtois’s best save so far with a deflected drive from 18 yards, the keeper diverting it over with one hand.
Chelsea immediately went close at the other end as Ivanovic sent a header towards goal from a corner. Burnley scrambled the ball away despite Matic’s attempt to help it over the line. Hazard then sent Costa scampering towards the box but the striker’s shot weakly at Heaton.
 
Ivanovic was ubiquitous. In the 58th minute he clipped an inviting cross from the right towards Costa, but the forward failed to apply a decisive touch from close range.
Chelsea seemed to be tightening their grip but Matic lost his head. The midfielder was angered by Barnes’s dangerous follow-through in a tackle and showed his fury by charging at the player and pushing him to the ground. The referee issued a red card and Matic briefly had to be held back by team-mates before accepting the decision and jogging down the tunnel.
Mourinho sought to shore up midfield and was intending to introduce Gary Cahill for Costa in the 81st minute as Burnley lined up a corner following a fine save by Courtois from another Barnes shot, but he could not make the change in time and had to watch aghast as Mee rose above Ramires and headed Trippier’s delivery into the net. Both managers made attacking changes in search of a winner and Burnley came closest to snatching it, Ings firing over after a swift counter-ttack in stoppage time.

====================

Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Burnley 1
Difficult week for west Londoners ends in controversy as Nemanja Matic is sent off before Burnley grab late equaliser at Stamford Bridge

By Ben Findon, Stamford Bridge

Chelsea crave, more than anything else, for this season’s legacy not to be disciplinary furores, conspiracy theories or, worst of all, the deep scar of racism, but the beauty of exhilarating football and the glitter of silverware in the May sunshine.
Yet after a grim week in which the club’s reputation was dragged through the dirt by the actions of a group of supporters in Paris, Saturday’s spectacular implosion, triggered by a moment of madness by midfielder Nemanja Matic, was just what Jose Mourinho’s League leaders needed least.
What should have been a routine victory over second-from-bottom Burnley, built on Branislav Ivanovic’s early goal, disintegrated in front of Chelsea’s eyes after Matic was sent off 20 minutes from time by referee Martin Atkinson for shoving Ashley Barnes to the ground in retaliation for an ugly challenge.
Nine minutes from the end, Burnley inflicted a stunning blow when central defender Ben Mee climbed highest at a corner to head home and grab a deserved point for the visitors.
Mourinho, who will now be without his influential midfielder for Sunday’s Capital One Cup final with Tottenham, was upset with Barnes’s challenge on Matic, and several other decisions that went against his side.
Recalling the controversy over Diego Costa’s stamp on Emre Can during the recent Capital One Cup semi-final, he said: “I am not going to call it anything because if I do I am going to use some words... a couple of weeks ago after the Liverpool game I knew already what was running on television, saying 'Diego crimes’. So compare 'Diego crimes’ with what happened today.”
Mourinho claimed the match turned on a series of key moments in which Chelsea failed to get decisions they wanted from Atkinson. Apparently referring to two rejected penalty appeals, a perceived foul by Barnes on Ivanovic and Matic’s red card, he said: “Minutes 30, 33, 43 and 69. I cannot comment on that story. It is difficult for me to say the truth. I make it easy for you. You go home and you look at these moments and you know what I think.”
“Minute 69 has a big relation with minute 30 because normally, the player, if I can call him a player, who was involved in minute 69 and minute 30, normally he would have been in the shower. So I prefer to finish here and say minute 30, 33, 43 and 69 - the story of the day.”
Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager deflected criticisms of Barnes, who may face retrospective action. “I will look back at it at some point, I haven’t seen it but if that’s the big talking point, I think there’s more to the game than that. I thought we were excellent today,” he said.
Yet it had been so different at the outset. Chelsea weaved their passing patterns with dangerous intent from the start, and when Juan Cuadrado lost possession just outside the visitors’ penalty it was simply the cue for Eden Hazard to collect the ball, dodge past three challenges and pull back a pass for Ivanovic to roll home from eight yards after just 14 minutes.
Burnley’s task had suddenly become even steeper but Sean Dyche’s men refused to be overawed. Strugglers they may be but this is still the resilient side who recovered a two-goal deficit to draw at Chelsea’s main title rivals, Manchester City over Christmas.
Chelsea dominated possession and dictated the tempo and Burnley had to survive two penalty scares, firstly when Michael Kightly’s raised arm blocked a fierce shot from Ivanovic, then when Jason Shackell’s nudge on Diego Costa sent the Chelsea striker, back after a three-match domestic ban, spinning. Both appeals were waved away by Atkinson.
Reduced to 10 men by Matic’s moment of madness, it became a different game, although Chelsea substitute Ramires got forward to thunder a shot wide with 12 minutes remaining. Now Burnley sensed their chance. Thibaut Courtois pushed Barnes’s low shot away for a corner, and from Kieran Trippier’s kick, Mee rose high to head powerfully home.

===========================

Mail:

Chelsea 1-1 Burnley: Ben Mee cancels out Branislav Ivanovic strike after Nemanja Matic sees red as Blues are dealt title blow
By Matt Barlow

Two points dropped at home to relegation threatened Burnley and midfield keystone Nemanja Matic banned for three games and, surprise, surprise, it is all down to the decisions which went against Chelsea.

'Minute 30, minute 33, minute 43 and minute 69,' was pretty much all Jose Mourinho wanted to say after the game, pointing everyone towards incidents which might have twice produced a red card for Ashley Barnes and twice earned the home team a penalty.
He had a point. Barnes was certainly fortunate to get away with the tackle on Matic, which sparked a retaliatory shove which earned the Serb a red card which will rule him out of the Capital One Cup final and Barclays Premier League games against West Ham and Southampton.
With his side leading the Chelsea midfielder is given his marching orders from referee Martin Atkinson in the 70th minute of the match
Barnes also got away with a first-half challenge on the airborne Branislav Ivanovic, which might have been punished but wasn't with anything more than a free-kick to Chelsea.
The penalty claims might have gone Mourinho's way on another day but still his team must shoulder the blame. They cannot hide behind the campaign imagined by their manager.
Chelsea were rattled by the loss of Matic, 11 minutes from time, and appeared to be still seething at the injustice of it all when Barnes was allowed to turn, in Matic territory, on the edge of the penalty area, and unleash a low drive which was turned wide by Thibaut Courtois.
From the corner, taken as Gary Cahill was prepared to come on as a substitute, Ben Mee climbed above Ramires to head Kieran Trippier's cross into the net and equalise. If the referee lost his focus and made mistakes, then so did Mourinho's players. Cahill returned to the bench and Didier Drogba came on instead.
The flash of temper from Matic was most out of character and understandable when you see replays of the high challenge by Barnes, well above the ankle, but he must know you cannot react by sprinting 10 yards and throwing him to the floor.
Ivanovic, still aggrieved from his skirmish with Barnes, could not help getting involved and was booked for trying to stop Martin Atkinson brandishing his red card.
John Terry seemed to be the coolest head. If there were others, Chelsea might have defended their 1-0 lead and would not be lamenting Burnley's fighting spirit and two lost points. And to think it had all started so well for Chelsea.
Five days after his vital 'away goal' in Paris, Ivanovic struck with a goal made by Eden Hazard, and featuring Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian making only his second start but who seems to have struck an instant chemistry with those around him.
Cuadrado forced an early save from Tom Heaton with a header and his pass launched Hazard into the penalty box, where the Belgian jinked to his right, skipped past three defenders, had the vision to spot Ivanovic and cut a cross short to his feet.
Perhaps Mourinho's complaints about the tackles Hazard has been enduring had an effect on Burnley's defenders as they failed to get close to him.
Ivanovic tucked the chance away at the near post, his third goal of the month, his sixth of the season and his 31st for the club. Not bad for a defender, although there have been times this season when the thundering right-back is more of an attacker.
 He was on the rampage once again before half-time to unleash a fierce drive which crashed into Michael Kightly's arm as the Burnley winger turned his back on the ball. This was the first of Mourinho's phantom penalties.
On another day it would have been given. Kightly's arm was extended away from his body and the ball had travelled some distance towards him, albeit at incredible speed. Ivanovic was unimpressed, especially as this was only three minutes after he had been booted from behind by Barnes.
The other phantom penalty came two minutes before half-time when Jason Shackell seemed to give Diego Costa a nudge from behind as the striker wriggled free. Costa exaggerated his tumble to the turf and was appalled when referee Martin Atkinson played on.
Costa and Atkinson have history from the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final at Liverpool.
Heaton saved from Oscar soon after conceding, but the visitors readjusted and there were flashes of encouragement for Sean Dyche before half-time, underlining how far his team have come since they were swept away by Chelsea at Turf Moor on the opening day of the campaign.
Barnes caught a volley sweetly from the edge of the penalty box but it was too near the goalkeeper, Shackell headed over when free at a corner. Courtois beat away a deflected effort from Barnes after the break, but Chelsea slowly regained control, creating a cluster of second-half chances with Hazard influential.
Matic almost smuggled in a second from a messy corner and Costa released by Hazard had a left-footer saved. Chelsea's top scorer then beat the ground with his fist as he came within inches of reaching crosses from either full-back.
Then the red card rocked the home team. Without Matic, they are not the same team, losing the midfield balance, which will concern Mourinho as he looks at the next three games.
Matic's dismissal is unlikely to be overturned as Barnes' provocation is not sufficient enough as a defence. The Burnley forward however could face an FA charge for his part in the incident.
Mee levelled from the corner to earn the point Dyche thought his battling team deserved, and they might have had more. As Chelsea pressed forward in search of a late winner, Danny Ings broke clear in the fourth minute of stoppage time and almost won it for Burnley.

================================

Mirror:

Chelsea 1-1 Burnley: Ten-man Blues throw away lead after Matic sees red
 
By Adrian Kajumba
 
Burnley put in a great second half and could even have grabbed a winner after Matic was sent off

Ben Mee was the unlikely Burnley hero as he earned them a shock point against ten-man Chelsea.
Sean Dyche's Clarets stunned the league leaders at Stamford Bridge when defender Mee headed home Kieran Trippier’s 81st minute corner to cancel out Branislav Ivanovic’s opener.
Mee struck 11 minutes after the incident that turned the match when Nemanja Matic saw red for reacting furiously to Ashley Barnes’s challenge and shoved over the Burnley striker.
The draw meant Jose Mourinho’s men missed the chance to go 10 points clear and handed Manchester City fresh hope in the title race ahead of their evening kick off against Newcastle while Burnley climbed up a place to third bottom.
The result, only the second time Chelsea have dropped league points at home this season, meant a disappointing end to another controversial week for the club.
They were back in action for the first time since a racist attack on a black man by a small group of their fans ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Paris Saint-Germain.
The positive response from the club to the incident was continued by the supporters inside Stamford Bridge.
One banner declaring ‘black or white, we’re all blue’ was unfurled while other fans held up posters with the slogan ‘no racism at the Bridge, that’s the way we like it.'
Chelsea made a great start on the pitch when they took the lead after 14 minutes.
Twinkle-toed Belgian Eden Hazard did brilliantly to jink his way to the byline after Juan Cuadrado regained possession and cut the ball back for Ivanovic who turned in his fourth goal in the last six games.
Ivanovic felt Chelsea should have had a penalty in the 32nd minute when his shot was blocked by Michael Kightly.
They had an even better shout just before half-time when Diego Costa appeared to be pushed over by Jason Shackell but again referee Martin Atkinson waved away Chelsea’s appeals.
Burnley threatened first after the break when Ashley Barnes's rising volley was helped over at full stretch by Thibaut Courtois.
But Costa could have doubled Chelsea’s lead 10 minutes after the restart when he raced clear onto Hazard’s pass but his shot was comfortably saved by Heaton.
Then the game exploded into life in the 70th minute when Matic saw red - literally.
He exploded after being caught by Ashley Barnes’s follow through, leaping to his feet and charging at the Burnley striker.
Barnes’ challenge was high, as he raked his studs down Matic’s leg after getting to the ball first. But referee Martin Atkinson had no choice but to show the Serbian midfielder a red card.
Burnley took full advantage 11 minutes later when they levelled. Their equaliser might have come seconds earlier when Courtois produced an excellent fingertip stop to keep out a Barnes snapshot.
But Burnley didn’t have to wait much longer for their goal as Mee climbed above Ramires to power home Trippier’s corner and make it 1-1.
That was how it stayed as Burnley held on for a brilliant result.
And there was another flashpoint to come after the full-time whistle as Chelsea coach Rui Faria was involved in a furious confrontation with Burnley goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer.

==============

Express:

Chelsea 1 - Burnley 1
Nemanja Matic’s red mist shove so costly for Blues
THE tackle was shocking. The reaction was stupid. The consequence was that Nemanja Matic’s loss of control threw away victory for Chelsea.
By Jim Holden

Maybe the lost points won’t matter at the end of the season and Chelsea will stay on course to win the Premier League.
But these can also be the kind of moments which change the momentum of a campaign.
Even before the flashpoint incident in the 69th minute, the reality was that Chelsea were struggling to maintain superiority over opponents who lie in the relegation zone.
Then came the reckless, dangerous and horribly late tackle by Ashley Barnes which caught Matic high on the shin.
It should have meant a straight red card for the Burnley striker, who otherwise had a fine match, forcing several saves from Thibaut Courtois.
Instead, it was missed by referee Martin Atkinson and his officials.
Matic took retribution into his own hands, angrily shoving Barnes to the ground – and when the ref saw this he had no option but to send off the Chelsea midfielder.
Such is the way of football sometimes. You could sympathise with Chelsea’s fury, but not with the folly of Matic himself, who will now miss the Capital One Cup Final.
Chelsea had been leading 1-0 up to that point thanks to Branislav Ivanovic’s goal, but now faced a Burnley side with fresh optimism.
Ten minutes from time the visitors equalised with a goal headed in at a corner by defender Ben Mee.
Burnley might even have snatched victory with the last kick of the game on a counter attack but Danny Ings fired the chance high over the bar.
Defeat would have been unjust on Chelsea, but their perception of conspiracy is overstated.
Atkinson didn’t miss seeing the bad tackle by Barnes on purpose and you wonder if manager Jose Mourinho is wise to keep on seeing demons everywhere.
The referee also missed a couple of good penalty claims for handball, one for each side, and was probably correct to rule out a spot-kick after Diego Costa tumbled easily in the box when shoulder-to-shoulder with Burnley skipper Jason Shackell.
Nevertheless, it was a game Chelsea should have won on the back of the brilliance in the first half of Eden Hazard.
Modern football is filled with a blizzard of statistics, but among the most revealing this season is that more players (20) have been booked for fouling Hazard than anyone in the Premier League.
It illustrates the extent to which Chelsea prosper from the creative genius of the Belgian international; his jinking runs, sniper passes and occasional goals.
Hazard shone brightest again here against a well-drilled and determined Burnley side.
A swivel of the hips, a side-step, a quick dart through the gap and Hazard had fashioned the opening goal in the 14th minute, reaching the byline and then delivering a perfect pass for Ivanovic to tap home from close range.
No wonder Chelsea are so pleased to have signed up Hazard on a new five-and-a-year contract.
Burnley’s contribution to the game was also entertaining. Ings and Barnes ensured Chelsea captain John Terry had a far from easy ride.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche disagreed with Mourinho’s belief that Barnes should have been sent off. He said: “I’ve only seen it as it happened. It looked like a coming together at an odd angle. Then Matic reacts in the way he did.”

CHELSEA: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Luis (Drogba 86); Fabregas, Matic; Cuadrado (Willian 63), Oscar (Ramires 72), Hazard; Costa.
BURNLEY: Heaton; Trippier, Keane, Shackell, Mee; Boyd, Jones, Arfield, Kightly (Vokes 79); Ings, Barnes.

Man of the match: EDEN HAZARD – a delight to watch as teased and tormented the Burnley defenders.
Referee: M Atkinson.
Attendance: 41,629.

===================

Star:

Chelsea 1 Burnley 1: Ben Mee snatches point for Clarets after Ivanovic opener
NEMANJA MATIC lost his head just when Chelsea were putting right wrongs.

By Tony Stenson

He was sent off for a reckless 70th-minute push on Ashley Barnes after he believed he had been fouled.
His reaction after was pure petulant schoolboy, getting up off the floor and racing ten yards to push the Burnley player over.
Referee Martin Atkinson had no option but to wave the red card.
It led to a nail-biting end for Chelsea as Burnley charged down the ten men and grabbed an 80th-minute equaliser through Ben Mee’s header.
It was a sad ending to what started out so brightly.
Chelsea let their grip slip at the top of the Premier League after Branislav Ivanovic had given them hope of taking all three points.
Surely Ivanovic – hero of their Champions League draw against Paris St-Germain in midweek – must now be regarded at the best goal-scoring full-back in world football.
He has often been their saviour, both in defence and attack. Chelsea should really have won easily.
They were always on the front foot and credit must go to Burnley for refusing to be overawed.
The Blues had two decent penalty appeals denied.
Angry Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho refused to call Ashley Barnes ‘a player’ and claimed he should have been sent off BEFORE his reckless tackle on Matic.
His challenge led to the Serb retaliating and being sent off. Matic will now miss next week’s Capital One Cup Final.
Mourinho said: “Don’t make me laugh because I am not in the mood to laugh.
“The tackle? I leave it with you. I prefer not to call it that because I will use some words (I don’t want to). I prefer to say this game had four crucial moments. Minutes, 30, 33, 43 and 69. This is the story of this game.
“The player – if I can call him a player – was involved in minute 69 and also involved in minute 30. Normally minute 31 he should have been in the shower. “
Burnley boss Sean Dyche said: “I only saw it as it happened and it looked to me as a coming together of two people.
“I can only give my instant reaction and I will look it again. If that is the big talking point I accept it but I also thought we were excellent today.
“I do not know if Barnes will face retrospective action. I would be surprised but who knows?”
It was ironically Chelsea’s annual Day of Equality at the end of a week where the club had been forced to condemn the racist behaviour of some supporters in Paris.
Off the field they showed courage and dignity by slamming and banning those who stained their name on the Paris Metro.
Burnley went a goal down early on but showed a fighting spirit that should help them survive the drop out of the Premier League.
Dyche constantly patrolled his area, demanding no let-up.
His team responded well but it needed the efforts of keeper Tom Heaton to keep them holding on. Eden Hazard, Oscar and defender Lilipe Luis always kept Chelsea ahead on points.
They also found an emerging new star in Juan Cuadrado, a livewire version of Willian, who replaced him later.
Cuadrado certainly put in a shift and helped create the first goal after forcing Burnley keeper Heaton to tip over an early header from Luis’ cross.
It was Cuadrado’s industry that led to them taking the lead in the 15th minute.
He won the ball, lost it, won it back and then stepped back for Hazard to weave his magic.
Hazard made his way to the byline before crossing for Ivanovic to tap home.
Chelsea were denied a penalty when Michael Kightly threw out an arm for block Ivanovic’s 32nd-minute shot.
Mourinho had his arms aloft again when Chelsea were denied another penalty after Shackell pushed over Costa on the stroke of half-time.
Heaton saved from Costa in the 56th minute as Chelsea relentlessly kept in pursuit of the killer second goal.
Instead, Burnley – lifted by Matic’s dismissal – equalised when Kieran Trippier swung over a corner and Mee headed in.
Sought-after Danny Ings could even have won it for the visitors in added time but his shot flew inches over.