Diego Costa had a debut to remember as he scored in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over newly promoted Burnley. The Spaniard was playing in his first official game after a £32m pound move from Atletico Madrid, and his goal proved to be the turning point of the night. Goals from Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic helped Chelsea to the win, after Scott Arfield’s opener for the home side, which surprised a few people.
Chelsea started the game with Thibault Courtois in goal, leaving club legend Petr Cech on the bench. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas also made their debuts, while Filipe Luis was left on the bench. That team selection looked wrong at the start after Arfield put Burnley ahead; his volley was an incredible effort, and there was little that debutant Courtois could do about it.
Chelsea had mustered a great response after the opener however, with Costa flying straight back and scoring just three minutes later. His first goal for the club was a simple tap in, but his quick reactions show he’s exactly what Chelsea need. After that Costa had a penalty appeal turned down, which looked dubious, but Chelsea went from strength to strength from there.
Schurrle scored the second just four minutes later, with the goal coming after a great passing move. Ivanovic and Fabregas played great passes in the build up, before Schurrle found the net past Tom Heaton. The assist from Fabregas was a fantastic pass, showing exactly why Chelsea brought him in.
The game was wrapped up when Ivanovic scored the third after 34 minutes. The Serbian was first to the corner from Fabregas, tapping in from close range. That goal put the result beyond Burnley and Chelsea were in control of the game from then on.
This was the kind of game that Chelsea struggled with last term, but coming back from 1-0 down to boss the game and comfortably take the three points shows how much they have improved over the summer. That’s been helped by the signings of Fabregas and Costa, and Mourinho was proud of both in his comments after the game.
The Portuguese said to Sky Sports, “You gave Cesc the man of the match and I completely agree. He was the maestro and controlled the tempo of the game with (Nemanja) Matic. He dictated the speed and intensity of the game.”
On Costa, Mourinho said, “Diego did something very important for us which was the first goal. His movement and interaction with Eden (Hazard), Oscar and Schurrle was very good, although I feel sorry for him because it was a penalty and never a yellow card.”
Mourinho was adamant that those two signings would prove key this season. “I always thought that Diego and Cesc would bring us to the dimension we want because they are different players to what we had in the past. We need that striker who can hold the ball and have interaction with other players, and we need that kind of midfielder that dictates the intensity in the centre.” Could they be the final pieces to the jigsaw that propel Chelsea to the title? Time will tell.
LCN Man of the match: Cesc Fabregas