The 27-year-old Victor Moses hit target for “The Blues” in the 69 minute. Staying compact and organised can only prove effective if it is complimented by pressure and aggression; it certainly wasn’t in the first half, Chelsea found it too easy to knock the ball around, rendering Barnes and Woods ineffectual.
Get breaking news on your Mobile as-it-happens.
He will also miss Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against the Saints as well as the league match against Swansea six days later.
Seventh-place Burnley missed the chance to leapfrog Arsenal in the standings but remains in a good position to qualify for the Europa League.
“We will try to reach the FA Cup final”.
“We forced them to play these long balls, but when they played them from their own half of the pitch, it’s less risky”.
Alvaro Morata should have doubled the lead early in the second half as he went in alone on goal but shot wide.
Click through the gallery above to see pictures of Morata being substituted against Burnley.
It has been a season of spiralling ambitions in east Lancashire since Dyche’s side beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day.
Alonso’s absence saw Emerson Palmieri make his first Premier League start for the Londoners since his January switch from AS Roma.
Now Conte’s side are eight points off the top four with five games remaining, meaning victory at Turf Moor tonight is imperative. But we need to finish the job this season. “We have to ask more questions than we did of Leicester”.
Burnley’s first-half hopes had been limited to a couple of unsafe crosses and plenty of long balls and, despite a stronger start to the second period by the hosts, the game should have been decided when Kante broke up a Burnley corner after 55 minutes and sparked a counter-attack.
Leicester then nearly scored when McCarthy did well to fingertip Vardy’s volley over the crossbar.
The defender made 10 clearances against Southampton, more than any other player on the pitch and marshalled the defence in the absence of captain Wes Morgan. However, a win for the red-and-white striped army will not be enough to see them escape the drop zone.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche was pleased with his side’s performance against Chelsea on Thursday, despite losing 2-1, as he believes they are getting closer to the top teams.