Chelsea blow chance to move into third after draw with burnley

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Chelsea

Chelsea passed up a golden opportunity to move ahead of their rivals for a top-four spot by allowing Burnley two goals in a frantic game that turned sour by the final whistle.

In the end, Maurizio Sarri’s side moved above Arsenal into fourth on a night when N’Golo Kante and Gonzalo Higuain were on target.

But a point was a poor return for a home fixture on a weekend when the Gunners, Tottenham and Manchester United had all managed to lose.

The Blues have now also played a game more than their rivals and bust-ups on the pitch before the end and off it afterward were symptomatic of frustration borne by a missed opportunity.

As for Burnley, who saw Jeff Hendrick open the scoring and Ashley Barnes complete it, the point means they will be back for another season of top-flight football next term.

The first half doubled as a homage to Manchester City’s Champions League second leg with Tottenham as high-quality attacking play and some questionable defending combined to conjure up four goals in the opening 25 minutes.

Burnley were the first to find the net, in the eighth minute having been penned into their own half up to then.

It came from a set-piece, naturally, when Cesar Azpilicueta headed away a corner to Hendrick lurking on the edge of the box.

The Republic of Ireland international watched its flight before launching a volley past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The lead was short-lived – all of four minutes – thanks to Hazard, whose trickery on the left of the box was too much for Matt Lowton.

The Real Madrid transfer target pulled the ball back for Kante to hit first-time past Tom Heaton, who had already pulled off a block to deny Hazard. Two minutes later and it was Higuain’s turn for another fine move and quality finish.

The on-loan Juventus striker produced a fine drag back to fool Ben Mee – notable earlier for an acrobatic clearance off the line – Azpilicueta employed a backheel for the one-two and Higuain took a stride before smashing the ball in off the underside of the crossbar.