Chelsea 2 Burnley 3: Five things we learned

Sean Dyche is a fervent anti-diving campaigner, but the Clarets chief has always drawn a line between blatant cheating and gamesmanship, an art his side haven’t mastered so far in their time in the top flight.

There have been times when Burnley have been too honest. Failing to make the most of contact in the penalty area, allowing referees the chance to make the easy decision.

When Gary Cahill lunged into Steven Defour after 13 minutes at Stamford Bridge we saw the Belgian’s experience come to the fore. Contact was minimal but Defour made sure Craig Pawson would know that the challenge had been potentially dangerous.

Did it influence Pawson’s decision to go straight for the red card? We’ll never know, but it’s the kind of trick other Premier League sides pull on a regular basis, and falls firmly into the gamesmanship category.

RECORD-BREAKING VOKES

The departure of Andre Gray for £18million made plenty of headlines in the week and also led to plenty of questions about Burnley’s ability to score goals.

It overlooked the fact that Gray wasn’t even the Clarets top scorer last season. That was an honour that fell to Sam Vokes with his late goal rush and after adding a double at the Bridge he now has seven goals in his last six Premier League games.

In scoring against Chelsea Vokes became the first Claret to score in four successive Premier League games and he looks like a man at the top of his game right now. Forget Gray, Vokes was the player Burnley couldn’t afford to lose.

THE MICHAEL KEANE QUESTION

Of course Gray wasn’t the only high profile exit at Turf Moor this summer. Michael Keane’s move to Everton early in July left a hole in Burnley’s back four.

The search for defensive reinforcements is yet to result in a new face arriving, but perhaps Keane’s perfect replacement has been at the club all along?

Since signing from Brentford James Tarkowski has had to be patient for his chance while Keane and Ben Mee continued to impress.

He finished last season in the team as injuries struck and he’s been able to stake his claim to be Keane’s long-term replacement this summer.

He did his case no harm on Saturday, turning in an excellent display as he thwarted Chelsea attacks time after time.

PRESSURING THE REFEREE

Referees get a lot of criticism these days, some fair and plenty unfair, so it’s only right we praise them at times too and Craig Pawson was excellent on Saturday.

He got most decisions spot on. Certainly Cesc Fabregas deserved his two bookings, while Gary Cahill’s lunge is a red card in the modern game, although it probably wasn’t as bad as Marcos Alonso’s challenge even earlier in the game.

Pawson also stood firm when the locals turned Stamford Bridge into a cauldron, raging at every decision he gave Burnley’s way, whether it be correct or not.

The crowd and the Chelsea players did their best to influence Pawson. Credit to him for standing firm.

KILLING THE STORY

In 2014/15 it was the long wait for a first win of the season, which eventually dragged into November, while last season it was the search for an away success, which arrived at the end of April.

Burnley’s success at Stamford Bridge on Saturday made sure a repeat of either scenario was impossible.

The away form became a significant talking point last season, despite the Clarets’ excellent home record, and it could easily have reared its head again this year given Burnley’s tough start on the road.

Instead they landed a rare opening day win in the top flight and killed the story stone dead. What away day blues?