LONDON -- Three observations from Chelsea's contentious 1-1 draw with Burnley in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
This might have been a good week for Chelsea but trauma has instead followed Tuesday's creditable 1-1 draw in Paris. When Ben Mee nodded in Burnley's equalizer to cancel out Branislav Ivanovic's opener, it compounded their pain. The chance to go 10 points clear of Manchester City had been lost, and at a considerable cost beyond merely dropping two points.
Nemanja Matic's sending-off for retaliation on Burnley striker Ashley Barnes robs Chelsea of their anchor man for next week's League Cup final with Tottenham, and probably two further Premier League games. He was justifiably angered by Barnes' high tackle -- Barnes caught the Serb midfielder in the shin with his studs showing and should also have been dismissed -- but his reaction and decision to push his assailant over was violent conduct.
The last time Matic sat out a match, Chelsea suffered their first league defeat of the season at Newcastle; victory here was surrendered as soon as he departed the field.
Meanwhile, off the field, the club is desperately soul-searching. "Carefree wherever we may be," says the fans' most popular terrace anthem, but recent thoughtless behaviour has sullied the club's reputation. Five season ticket-holders' seats were empty for their part in a racist incident on the Paris Metro. Each of Jose Mourinho, John Terry and chairman Bruce Buck were at pains in their programme notes to point out the club's commitment to fighting racism.
Indeed, this was the club's Equality Day, an occasion ordained long before the team's visit to Paris -- "Building Bridges" badges were being handed out on the concourse. It is clear the club is "ashamed," to use the word Mourinho used on Friday.
"Black or white, we are all blue," read a banner made by fans in the Shed End. "No racism at the Bridge. That's the way we like it," said a home-printed A4.
United against racism but rather disjointed on the pitch, Jose Mourinho was clearly unsettled by his team's inability to add to Ivanovic's goal. He spent the closing minutes of the first half in deep conversation with fourth official Kevin Friend after referee Martin Atkinson waved away two decent penalty shouts -- one for a handball that denied an Ivanovic shot, another for Michael Keane's push on Diego Costa.
Neither were awarded; instead, Matic lost his cool before Burnley took their point gleefully. It has been a week of fear and self-loathing for Chelsea.
2. Cuadrado fails to deliver
Stamford Bridge was given its first glimpse of Juan Cuadrado as a starter. Willian dropped to the bench. For all the endeavour the Brazilian brings to Chelsea, his attacking prowess has dulled somewhat from the live wire he once was as a Shakhtar Donetsk player. He has scored just four times this season, not a particularly good return for a player in an ostensibly attacking role. Ivanovic has 50 percent more.
Cuadrado, it is hoped, will add more flair to Chelsea. In the opening minutes he stole in behind the Burnley defence to meet a Felipe Luis cross and his looping header forced a finger-tip save from Tom Heaton.
The Colombian then showed similar doggedness to Willian in playing a part in Ivanovic's goal. Having lost the ball thanks to his own heavy touch, he then won it back from Mee and slid it to Eden Hazard, whose charge to the byline set up Ivanovic's simple finish.
Though he is far more unorthodox than Willian the middle-distance athlete, there are signs Cuadrado can fit into Mourinho's tactical cage far more than Andre Schurrle and Mo Salah, the two players loaned out last month to Wolfsburg and Fiorentina respectively so that he could be added. With experience as a wing-back, he was happy to work back when required as his manager demands from even the most gifted of his attackers.
There were signs of an understanding with Ivanovic, that hugely effective overlapping full-back. When Chelsea had a stonewall penalty claim turned down after the Serb's shot rattled off Michael Kightly's outstretched hand, it was after Cuadrado had played a pinpoint pass into his right-flank partner's path. When Ivanovic buccaneered on, Cuadrado was happy to back him up.
And there were also signs that he is not afraid to make incursions infield to get on the end of the passing of Cesc Fabregas or Costa's flick. His pace, again more electric than that of Willian, makes him a useful out-ball. Just after the hour, the Colombian left the field to applause as Willian resumed his usual position. He now has a highly credible competitor for his position.
3. Clarets find a real flow
Burnley play with far more flair than Sean Dyche's gruff demeanour would suggest. In the early stages it was they and not Chelsea who dominated possession, with strikers Ashley Barnes and Danny Ings (recently feted by England manager Roy Hodgson) seeing plenty of the ball. Barnes, hopefully accidentally, was involved in the moment that changed the game's destiny.
It is in defence that the Clarets' problems lie. Ivanovic's goal was the 44th they have conceded; only QPR have been so sieve-like. Of course, this was a match that will have been viewed by Dyche as one in which any sort of result below a thrashing can be treated as a bonus. And he got it. With a small squad and a low wage bill, Burnley are already punching way above their fighting weight anyway. This season has already seen them hold Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.
They are no long-ball outfit, either; the aim is to find those twin strikers by threading passes while pressing opposition with every last sinew. On the sidelines, Dyche shouts himself hoarse, pacing in with agitation. As Chelsea failed to add to Ivanovic's goal, they had a chance and calmly took it.
Burnley will now fight on for survival, with an opportunity to escape a concertina-esque relegation battle, and have won many admirers along the way. Not that Dyche, a manager who enjoys his higher public profile and is clearly ambitious, will want his team to be patronised. With a result like this, no opposition can take them lightly.
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