Chelsea 2-2 Burnley, RESULT: Blues left frustrated as they fail to take full advantage of rivals' defeats in battle for Premier League top four
- Jeff Hendrick volley gave Burnley the lead in the eighth minute at Chelsea
- N'Golo Kante and Gonzalo Higuain turned game on its head within six minutes
- But Ashley Barnes soon brought Burnley level in crazy first 24 minutes
- Callum Hudson-Odoi forced off with injury at end of the first half
- Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Kante (Kovacic), Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi (Pedro), Higuain (Giroud), Hazard
- Burnley XI: Heaton, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood
- READ: The full Premier League match report from Stamford Bridge
The tension boiled over for Maurizio Sarri as he twitched and drew on his fake cigarette, fought a running battle with Burnley's coaching staff and was dismissed from the touchline in the closing seconds of a frantic draw.
Sarri was ordered down the tunnel by referee Kevin Friend and his backroom team became embroiled in a series of arguments with Sean Dyche's staff at the final whistle.
READ: The full Premier League match report from Stamford Bridge
I'm throwing it out there. That second half defensive display from Burnley is one of the finest I have seen this season. Chelsea looked dangerous going forward but a series of blocks closing down and... some gamesmanship from the Clarets have seen them grind out a highly credible draw.
Chelsea move up into fourth but that is a big two points dropped for them in the battle to secure a top four spot. Burnley meanwhile are now nine points clear of Cardiff in the relegation zone with just nine points on the table.
With Sean Dyche's side having a superior goal difference by 18 goals - that makes them as good as safe.
That's all from me here though. Thanks for following - post-match reaction on the homepage.
Click here for more fixtures, tables and results with our Match Zone
90+4min: The mind games are all with Burnley. They win a free-kick deep in the Chelsea half and that spill out huge frustrations from Kovacic who confronts a Burnley player and is booked - leading to handbags. It's all into Burnley's hands as the clocks ticks.
Even Maurizio Sarri is getting sucked into it, complaining on the touchline. I imagine there will be another added minute here.
90+2min: The lesser spotted yellow card in this game. Burnley counter from a Chelsea corner, but Pedro intercepts a pass by blatantly handing the ball.
90+1min: There will be five added minutes which seems justified given the Burnley time wasting. Can Chelsea find a winner though?
89min: This is getting a bit silly from Burnley now. Now McNeil is staying down inside the box following a Chelsea corner.
He is getting treatment on the pitch but the Chelsea supporters are not buying it, jeering the delay in play. I expect there will be a fair few minutes of stoppage time.
86min: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Barnes goes down complaining of cramp as Chelsea'a attacking momentum comes to a grinding halt. For now...
85min: There is literally no attacking outlet for Burnley now. It's 10 men behind the ball now and every clearance is going straight to a Chelsea defender to restart an attack.
82min: I'm still convinced there is a big chance to come from Chelsea - especially with Burnley having everyone behind the ball now. It's just wave after wave of attacking from the Blues...
80min: Big 10 minutes coming up here at both ends of the table. Chelsea can ill afford to drop points in the race to finish inside the top four, while a point for Burnley will all but make them safe from relegation barring a highly unlikely goal difference swing with Cardiff City.
78min: Fair to say Higuain is less than pleased at his early departure. He is throwing bibs and bottles in the dugout - with his team-mates having to take cover.
77min: Final change for Chelsea as Higuain departs to applause from fans as he is replaced by Olivier Giroud.
75min: After a long spell of possession, the first signs of Chelsea frustration come to the boil. With little option of a pass, David Luiz lets fly with a solid effort from 25 yards that is comfortably saved by Heaton.
73min: Ashley Barnes is the latest Burnley player to need treatment, but like with Tarkowski he looks like he will be ok to continue.
Chelsea fans might have one word to sum this all up. Gamesmanship.
70min: Chelsea continue to apply the pressure on Burnley but despite their struggles to break down the visitors, you do sense that a brilliant chance will fall for them sooner rather than later.
Burnley have defended well, very well in fact, but I can't say they look that comfortable in fending off the home side.
67min: Good save from Heaton. A Chelsea cross rolls towards the back post for Azpilicueta, whose first time strike is well blocked by the Burnley keeper.
64min: Burnley to their credit are not just sat back trying to absorb everything Chelsea are throwing at them.
There is attacking intent too. Dwight McNeil is linking up well with his team-mates on the left but too often the Blues have them outnumbered in the home side's half.
61min: Not too sure Burnley are going to survive another 30 minutes of this. The Blues want a free-kick on the edge of the box after Charlie Taylor and Pedro get into a tussle, with the Clarets full-back having a clear pull of the Spaniard not seen by the referee.
58min: Not far away! I thought this was heading for the corner as Emerson lets fly across goal from 25 yards, only for his shot to zip wide of the post. Burnley are struggling to get out of their half at the moment.
55min: What's going on with the pitch at Stamford Bridge? Another stoppage in play due to a injury concern, as James Tarkowski goes down before trudging off for a moment. I would wager he will run this off though. Sean Dyche certainly doesn't look too concerned on the touchline.
52min: Chances at both ends. First, Burnley waste a glorious opportunity as Chris Wood is played in on goal, but after running into an acute angle he hesitates to shoot and it allows the Chelsea defence to get back, win the ball and clear.
Straight down the other end, Kovacic fires over from 20 yards.
51min: Good football there. OF course Eden Hazard is involved again after cutting in from the left, playing the ball wide for Pedro. His low cross finds Gonzalo Higuain, but his low strike is well saved by Tom Heaton.
48min: Those changes have not harmed Chelsea too much early on in the second half. The Blues still on the front foot as Emerson Palmieri's cross from the left just has too much height on it as the ball sails away to safety.
But it's not Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has to depart, it is N'Golo Kante, who is replaced by Mateo Kovacic in Chelsea's second enforced switch this evening.
'On the touchline, Sarri has become increasingly agitated with Sean Dyche’s assistant Ian Woan. As half-time approached, the Chelsea manager was standing inside the Burnley technical area, blocking his view.'
Burnley's big problem in the second half is concerned with stopping Eden Hazard. He has had the freedom of the left and Matthew Lowton has simply had no answer so far - even ending up on his backside he was turned inside out so much in the seconds before Kante's equaliser.
Here is Hazard's first half heat map.
Click here for more maps and stats with our excellent Match Zone
Cracking game so far at the Bridge. Lots of attacking play from Chelsea who for the most part have looked very dangerous in and around the Burnley penalty box.
The Clarets being petrified of the influential Eden Hazard is playing its part in that but credit to the Clarets. With their only real meaningful attacks they have scored twice. They are stubborn if not nothing else and it sets up a promising second half...
45+1min: We are into three added minutes at Stamford Bridge.
44min: Those injuries have killed the end of this half, as Chelsea take their foot off the gas a bit. Loftus-Cheek at least looks like he will be able to continue.
41min: Pedro is introduced to replace the England international, who could miss the run in looking at the way he gingerly limped down the tunnel.
39min: Make that double trouble for Chelsea. Now Ruben Loftus-Cheek is struggling too! The Chelsea subs are going for a brisk warm up.
He will continue for now, but Hudson-Odoi's evening is done. He is being assisted by two of Chelsea's medical team as he limps around the pitch.
37min: Chelsea continue to look the more attacking team and they have looked dangerous too.
A concern for Blues fans though. Callum Hudson-Odoi has gone down under no pressure with what looks like a knee issue. He will try and run it off for now but he is limping.
34min: Our first lull in the game and even that has produced a yellow card as Tom Heaton is booked for time wasting.
The Clarets keeper is far from happy though having a few strong words with the match official, while his manager Sean Dyche is also in discussion with the fourth official. I have no idea what the defence's case is here - he was time wasting!
30min: This could end 8-8 the way the match is going. Higuain lets fly with another powerful strike, similar to the one he fired the Blues in front with.
This time it is from the edge of the box but it just flies past the top corner - he looks sharp this evening.
28min: Those potential Chelsea fans are missing out. This all action, with Jorginho seeing a dangerous strike headed away by Barnes, while Hazard follows a Loftus-Cheek special by curling over the crossbar.
'Big game for Chelsea but lots of empty seats at Stamford Bridge in the MHU and the Shed.'
24min: Just when you thought Chelsea were ready to race clear with the three points. A free-kick pumped to the back post is nodded across goal, with Chris Wood flicking the ball towards the back post for Ashley Barnes to equalise. Again, against the run of play.
Click here for more maps and stats with our excellent Match Zone
20min: And they are not that far away from a third. Ruben Loftus-Cheek attempts to bend a shot across goal from the edge of the box, with his effort just clearing the top corner.
19min: Having now gone five minutes without a goal, we have time to finally breathe a little. The Burnley defence do not though. It's just constant Chelsea pressure as the hosts look to pile on the goals.
14min: What a turnaround?! It took just six minutes for Chelsea to reverse their fortunes with Gonzalo Higuain running onto a Cesar Azpilicueta backheel before blasting a high finish past a rather helpless Heaton at his near post.
Click here for more maps and stats with our excellent Match Zone
12min: Turn to Eden Hazard is the answer. The forward leaves Matthew Lowton on his backside inside the box before cutting the ball back for N'Golo Kante to rifle high into the net.
Click here for more maps and stats with our excellent Match Zone
11min: What will be the response from Chelsea? They look a little flat at the moment. Probably just as shocked as the fans in the stadium.
8min: Cracking goal! It's against the run of play but after a Burnley corner, Cesar Azpilicueta's header only falls for Jeff Hendrick on the edge of the box who fires a volley into the bottom corner.
Click here for more maps and stats with our excellent Match Zone
6min: Chelsea are all over Burnley so far. Hazard's chipped ball into the box finds Gonzalo Higuain, whose lobbed finish over Heaton is cleared off the line by acrobatics from Ben Mee.
3min: Early scare for Burnley. Tom Heaton forced to save from point blank range after a Chelsea corner as the Blues begin on the front foot.
Remember to get the most out of our live coverage by following all the action with Sportsmail's excellent Match Zone.
It features the latest line-ups, formations, match stats and a handy player comparison tool.
In addition there are heat zones for EVERY player as well as detailed maps of all the goals as they go in. Read more on the above link.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Higuain, Hazard.
Subs: Barkley, Pedro, Caballero, Kovacic, Giroud, Zappacosta, Cahill.
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood.
Subs: Gudmundsson, Brady, Gibson, Hart, Ward, Vydra, Long.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
Here is how the table stands before kick-off. Victory over Burnley would take Chelsea up to third having played a game more than all their rivals for a top four place.
Meanwhile the Clarets are looking for a win that would cement their place in the Premier League next season.
Click here for more fixtures, tables and results with our Match Zone
Turns out Eden Hazard plays with a set of earphones - who knew?
Maurizio Sarri makes two changes to the Chelsea team beaten 2-0 at Liverpool last time out as Gonzalo Higuain and Andreas Christensen come in for Antonio Rudiger and Willian.
Burnley meanwhile stick with the same XI that defeated Cardiff City 2-0 in their last Premier League encounter at Turf Moor.
ADAM CRAFTON: After a goal and an assist against Slavia Prague, Olivier Giroud might have thought he'd done enough to earn the backing of his boss.
Instead, Maurizio Sarri remains stubbornly determined to defend his authority in the Chelsea dressing room.
No supporters now but expect a fair few inside Stamford Bridge this evening as they look to take a vital step towards potentially securing Champions League qualification for next season.
Tottenham Hotspur lost. Manchester United lost. Arsenal lost. Chelsea?
The Blues have a big chance to take advantage of their rivals stumbling as they host Burnley looking to move up into third.
So will the Blues bag the three points or will Sean Dyche's men spring yet another Premier League shock on this bank holiday weekend. Follow all our coverage of the 8pm kick-off here.
Chelsea wrap up the Easter weekend action in the Premier League when they host Burnley looking for a victory that would fire them up to third in the table.
With all of their top four rivals losing over the weekend, the Blues will be hoping to fully capitalise against a Burnley side who will have plenty of motivation in west London.
Victory for the Clarets will ensure their Premier League status for another season, so follow all the action from the 8pm BST kick off at Stamford Bridge as it happens.
If you are using the app, please click here to view today’s live blog
Most watched Sport videos
- England manager Sarina Wiegman slams coach-player relationships
- USMNT's wildly celebrate after Nations League win
- Chiefs player Justin Reid talks about how he met Taylor Swift
- Heartwarming moment NY Red Bulls players give their coats to mascots
- New York Jets star Sauce Gardner claims Jewish people 'run the world'
- Travis and Jason Kelce CLASH over who would win a drinking contest
- Fake clip claiming to show Swift and Kelce falling off a swing
- Manchester United could be BARRED from European football
- David Seaman recalls to 'THAT' Ronaldinho free-kick
- Luis Diaz's dad shows off his moves at Colombia national game
- Endrick commands attention following Brazil v England friendly
- Kobbie Mainoo reveals his 'Man Utd' nickname
Host commentator