Burnley 0-2 Chelsea: Neto and Fernandez claim Turf Moor spoils
Chelsea overcame Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday, to move at least temporarily up to second place in the Premier League.
Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez scored as Chelsea made it three straight Premier League wins by beating Burnley 2-0 on Saturday.
Chelsea were without some key players at Turf Moor, with Cole Palmer having sustained an injury setback and Moises Caicedo left on the bench by Enzo Maresca, who was overseeing his 50th Premier League match in charge of the Blues.
Yet Chelsea nevertheless got the job done in solid, if unspectacular, fashion, condemning 17th-place Burnley to a third straight loss.
Neto broke the deadlock in the 37th minute, stooping to head in from Jamie Gittens' teasing delivery.
The Portugal international struck the woodwork midway through the second half, but Burnley were unable to make their good fortune count, with the toothless Clarets managing just two shots on target and a meagre 0.44 expected goals (xG).
Chelsea's victory was sealed in the 88th minute – Robert Sanchez and Malo Gusto launching a counter-attack, with substitute Marc Guiu teeing up Fernandez to drill home and send the Blues, at least temporarily, into second place, ahead of a big week in which they will take on Barcelona and Arsenal.
Data Debrief: The kids are alright
Chelsea have spent plenty on securing the best young talent from across the globe in recent seasons, and they have become just the second team in Premier League history to go 50 consecutive games without a player aged 30 or older in their starting XI, after Aston Villa between September 2012 and January 2014 (59).
One of those youngsters, 21-year-old Andrey Santos, was particularly impressive as he filled in for Caicedo in midfield. The Brazilian won two out of three tackles, made a joint team-high four clearances and came out on top in seven of the 10 duels he contested.
Neto was also bright in attack, and he has now been involved in five goals across his last five Premier League appearances for Chelsea (three goals, two assists), scoring as many goals this term (four in 12 appearances) as he did in the entirety of last season (four in 35 matches).
