Chelsea down Burnley in second-half rout

Chelsea stunned Burnley with three goals in the space of nine second-half minutes on their way to a 4-0 victory at Turf Moor.

Reece James, making his first start of 2022 after injury, got the first a couple of minutes into the second half and then had a hand in the next two - both finished by Kai Havertz - with Burnley imploding as they lost back-to-back home league games for the first time this season.

It got worse for the hosts with a little more than 20 minutes to go when a mistake from James Tarkowski left Christian Pulisic with the easiest of finishes from barely a yard out.

Playing only their second league fixture since the 2-0 win over Tottenham on 23 January - during which time they have become world champions, advanced in the FA Cup and lost the Carabao Cup final - Chelsea strengthened their grip on third place with a seventh win in eight Premier League visits to Turf Moor.

But for 45 minutes, it was hardly a performance that was likely to help Roman Abramovich's attempts to sell the club for a reported £3billion.

Chelsea fans interrupted a minute's applause held in solidarity with Ukraine by chanting the name of their Russian owner, then watched on as a club sold last year for £200million enjoyed the better chances against their side.

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Sean Dyche's men came out snapping at the heels of the world and European champions, making a nuisance of themselves and forcing openings.

Chelsea passed up the first chance - Saul Niguez's cross eluded Havertz but rolled across for James before Charlie Taylor slid in to make a crucial block.

Moments later, Connor Roberts set Aaron Lennon free and he cut the ball back for Wout Weghorst, who saw his first-time shot cleared off the line by Thiago Silva.

Chelsea began to