Burnley hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2-2 draw

Big-brand clubs are supposed to be accustomed to pressure, but you sure couldn't tell it from the scramble for the Premiership's third and fourth spots in Europe next season.

• Arsenal screwed the pooch against Crystal Palace, and
• Manchester United was delivered a dog's breakfast by Everton.

At least Chelsea was respectfully beaten by Liverpool coming into this tie with Burnley.

And then they wet the bed at Stamford Bridge, tossing away a couple of vital points by being held to a 2-2 draw.

 

The Blues blew their shot at moving up to third as a result in a match that had them fuming, not the least because of dust-ups and pitch bans involving the managers and their staffs.

Action between the lines started at a frenetic pace. Gonzalo Higuain was the first to create a golden chance to open the scoring, but he missed it. 

The Clarets then surprised Chelsea at the 8-minute mark when Jeff Hendrick stroked a wonderful volley from the edge of the box past Kepa Arrizabalaga:

 

 

Chelsea was quick to respond, doing so just four minutes later.

Who else but Eden Hazard embarrassed a Burnley defender down the left side, crossing to N'Golo Kante, who popped it home:

 

Two minutes later, Higuain made reparations for his earlier misfire.

Dude launched a close-range missile after receiving a backheel pass from Cesar Azpilicueta:

 

It wasn't for lack of trying that the Blues left two points on the pitch. They dominated in terms of ball possession, commanding 80% of it.

However, Burnley somehow found the equalizer, which goes to show yet again ...

 

If there's one thing to know about Burnley, it's that they're masters of the set piece, and they confirmed it again.

Ben Mee was the designated dude on this set piece from distance. He headed it to Chris Wood, who flicked on to the dangerous Ashley Barnes, who did the honors.

 

 

What's more, dude's now the only one this season to find twine against each of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Spurs.

That's as close as anyone's come to matching Jamie Vardy's incredible feat in 2017-2018 when he tallied against those four plus Manchester City and Liverpool.

 

The scoring well wen dry in the second half, not the least because the Clarets pulled out every time-wasting trick in the book, much to the Blues' chagrin.

So, here's the race as it stands right now with 3-4 matches to go, depending on the team:

Chelsea fans will be the first to admit that red-&-gray don't suit them very well. Because they don't.