Chelsea crushed 'Liverpool's nightmare'

Antonio Conte's star-studded team won 3-0 in their third Premier League match, where Burnley – who had thrashed Liverpool in the previous round – revealed themselves to be an inexperienced team.

Burnley stunned the entire Premier League a week ago by unexpectedly winning 2-0 against a high-flying Liverpool. However, at Stamford Bridge, Sean Dyche's team reverted to their true colors – a newly promoted team with too many flaws – and suffered a heavy defeat against title contenders Chelsea.

The 3-0 scoreline in favor of Chelsea didn't even reflect the situation at Stamford Bridge, where the home team dominated possession and felt as comfortable as if it were a training match. If Costa, Oscar, Hazard, Willian, Matic, Pedro, Batshuayi, and Azpilicueta had finished better, or if Burnley goalkeeper Heaton hadn't made so many saves, the lead could have easily been doubled for the home side.

Fabregas had previously made a big impact coming off the bench to help Chelsea come from behind to beat Watford in the previous round, but Conte continued to leave the creative Spanish midfielder out of the starting lineup against Burnley. The only change the Italian coach made was bringing in winger Willian, who had just recovered from injury.

In a 4-5-1 formation, flexibly switching to a 4-3-3 with Willian (on the right) and Hazard (on the left) pushing forward, Chelsea attacked very fluidly. They needed just eight minutes to open the scoring, with Pedro receiving the ball from Matic in midfield, surging forward, and curling a dangerous left-footed shot past goalkeeper Heaton.

Hazard opened the scoring in the 8th minute, giving Chelsea a huge psychological advantage. Photo: Reuters.

The early goal allowed Chelsea to play with more fluidity, while Burnley could only defend desperately. From the midfield trio of Kante, Matic, and Oscar, a series of attacks were launched, creating numerous scoring opportunities for the home team. However, due to the lack of finishing from Hazard, Terry, and Costa, Stamford Bridge didn't celebrate their second goal until the 41st minute. Willian sealed his presence with a powerful shot from Costa, scoring after receiving the ball.

Burnley showed no signs of the courageous and effective attacking play they displayed against Liverpool in the second round. They continued to be outplayed after the break and were almost completely overwhelmed by Chelsea's attacking stars, who seemed to be constantly manipulating the ball with intricate passing sequences reminiscent of training sessions.

Even when Conte substituted all three of Chelsea's star attacking players – Willian, Costa, and Hazard – and Chelsea's performance slowed down towards the end of the match, Burnley showed no signs of improvement. They even conceded a third goal in the 89th minute, following a quick counter-attack involving three Chelsea substitutes. From Batshuayi's effort to get the ball out wide, Pedro broke through, crossed the ball to Moses, and sealed the victory with a tap-in.

Conte's Chelsea are having an impressive start to the Premier League season, winning all three of their opening matches. Photo: Reuters.

This 3-0 result gave Chelsea their biggest win of the season so far, and extended their winning streak to four matches, including the first three Premier League games and one in the League Cup.

According to VNE