Chelsea began their title defence with a disastrous defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues went down to ten men early and things only got worse from there as their opposition nailed three first half goals to send the hosts in humiliated at half time.
There was a glimmer of hope as the Blues grabbed a goal and then a second, but Cesc Fabregas’ red card ended any hopes of a Blue recovery.
Here are our ratings from today’s featured Chelsea players…
Starting Eleven:
Thibaut Courtois – 6 – Forced to watch three first half goals fly past him as his defenders did nothing to prevent easy chances falling to Burnley’s players.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 3 – Showed his weaknesses as a right wing back by squandering a couple of early crossing chances.
David Luiz – 5 – The central reference point for the team as usual and one of the few players who looked capable of creating anything before the great collapse. Lead the charge from the back and got a deserved goal.
Gary Cahill – 1 – Looked totally comfortable then made a totally foolish one footed lunge to get himself a straight red after just 13 minutes.
Andreas Christensen – 3 – Came on early but did nothing for any of the 3 Burnley goals. Should have had a goal but saw his shot forced in by the offside Morata.
Antonio Rudiger – 3 – Had a tricky game to make a debut in as he and his fellow defenders were shredded by Burnley time and again.
N’Golo Kante – 5 – Another player who looked like they might be able to spark a revival before being overwhelmed as they game got away from Chelsea.
Cesc Fabregas – 3 – Booked for sarcastic applause minutes after Cahill’s red, then after a poor game given an inevitable second yellow late on. Utterly braindead.
Marcos Alonso – 4 – Booked fairly for a hard early tackle as the first sign of Chelsea’s indiscipline emerged. Couple of shots in second half but ultimately unable to provide enough quality.
Willian – 5 – Poor pass early gave ball away in attack but grew into first half with some darting runs. Provided the assist for Morata with a lovely swerve and cross and was consistently the best attacking player in Blue.
Michy Batshuayi – 3 – Isolated, ineffective and likely out of chances up front for the Blues with Morata looking far brighter after his introduction.
Jeremie Boga – 5 – His long awaited debut was cut short after he was subbed off in the post red reshuffle.
