THE 70th minute of this engrossing battle at Stamford Bridge could prove to be a pivotal moment in the Premier League run-in at the top and bottom of the table.

While Chelsea’s title aspirations are of no interest to Burnley, they will hope that a most unlikely point in West London is the catalyst to secure Premier League safety in 12 games time.

For the first 70 minutes the Clarets had threatened only sporadically, but had managed to keep Chelsea relatively quiet at the other end.

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But then came the clash between Ashley Barnes and Nemanja Matic that brought the game to life, and gave Burnley the platform to take the attack to the Premier League leaders.

Barnes was in possession of the ball when he lunged to play a pass beyond Matic. His follow through was high and when his outstretched boot met the Serbian’s leg not far from the knee, studs first, most people present expected a red card.

There was no malice in the tackle, but it could have broken Matic’s leg, and the midfielder went down clutching it as if he feared the worst.

Instead, Martin Atkinson gave Burnley a throw-in, and Matic suddenly leapt to his feet and charged at the Clarets number 30, shoving Barnes over with force, and the referee had no choice but to send him off.

Jose Mourinho immediately withdraw an attacking midfielder for a defensive one, and was on the verge of introducing Gary Cahill for Diego Costa when Ben Mee rose highest to head home Kieran Trippier’s corner.

When Branislav Ivanovic had put Chelsea into an early lead on 14 minutes it looked like being a routine home win for Mourinho’s men.

But Burnley deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they stayed in the game after that, something they almost certainly won’t get amidst the fallout from Mourinho’s post-match rant.

Burnley weren’t as vibrant and creative going forward as they had been against Manchester United 10 days ago, but they were facing a side who had kept 16 clean sheets in their last 20 home league games.

And crucially they were better defensively, seeing out Chelsea’s seven corners with relative ease.

Sean Dyche and his players can now add this result to the point they earnt at the Etihad Stadium over Christmas.

They are the only team this season to stop both of the Premier League’s title challengers from winning at home, an achievement they should be immensely proud of, but one that can also only be properly celebrated if the two points help secure a second season in the Premier League.

The race for survival couldn’t be tighter with 12 games to go, but Burnley’s increased threat in the opposition box - they have scored in 11 of their last 13 games - could be crucial.

And they must take confidence from the way they have performed at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.

If they can match last week’s attacking verve with this week’s defensive resilience then it is a combination good enough to win games.

They may well have to reproduce it without Barnes if he faces retrospective action from the FA for his tackle on Matic.

Mourinho’s remark of ‘the player, if I can call him that’ about Barnes after the game was an unnecessary and undeserved jibe about someone who has fought his way up from non-league to enjoy his moment in the top flight.

Yet again Barnes was a handful for a defence as he and Terry went man-to-man in a physical battle, while he also tested Courtois on several occasions.

The first of those, on six minutes, was a technically skillful volley on a dropping ball from 20-yards which was held by Chelsea’s Belgian goalkeeper.

The goal which gave the home side the advantage was finished by Ivanovic but belonged to Eden Hazard.

He glided into the penalty area before skipping past David Jones and Ben Mee with a sharp turn of pace and quick feet. His low pull-back was a simple finish for the marauding right-back.

Ivanovic was involved in another of the games key moments just after the half hour. His 20-yard drive was flying goalwards when it hit Michael Kightly’s arm inside the box.

The winger had no time to move out of the way, but his arm was outstretched, making his frame to block the ball bigger, and they are usually given.

Chelsea’s manager was again left furious minutes before the break when Diego Costa went down in the box. Jason Shackell had put an arm on him but there is no doubt the Spanish international made the most of it.

Five minutes into the second half Courtois had to tip a deflected Barnes half-volley over the bar, before Chelsea had their best spell of the game, with Heaton saving from Costa after Hazard’s perfect pass had allowed him to go beyond Keane, while crosses flew in from left and right, with nobody able to get on the end of them.

Then came the turning point, as Matic was shown his marching orders, and Barnes stayed on.

Burnley began to build up a head of steam, and just as Mourinho was about to go ultra-defensive Trippier produced another excellent corner and Mee headed in.

Instead of bringing on a defender for a striker, Mourinho introduced a striker for a left-back as both teams searched for a win.

Burnley had their moments on the break, the best of them falling to Danny Ings, who looked to be through on goal from the halfway line, only for the fresh legs of Ramires to catch him and force him inside, and he fired wide from the edge of the area.

But a point was more than anyone had really expected, and hopefully it will prove vital come the end of May.