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| Reece James x Kai Havertz |
Tuchel made seven changes from Chelsea's FA Cup win at Luton, with Reece James making his first start of the calendar year, Saul deputised as a wing-back and Kai Havertz led the line, while Romelu Lukaku looked on. Unsurprisingly with some players still struggling with fitness and so many changes - the opening 45 minutes from Turf Moor made for a difficult watch.
Chelsea struggled to break down Burnley's low block, while the hosts appeared to be on the front foot sensing a potential vulnerability. Their efforts were denied by Thiago Silva who was not going to let the Clarets notch up their first win against Chelsea at home since 1973.
Thomas Tuchel must have given the team talk of his life at the break. Despite their being no immediate personnel changes on the pitch - it was like a completely different team turned up. Within minutes of the second half-kicking off, Reece James gave Chelsea the lead. And within 10 minutes - the Blues found themselves 3-nil up following a brace from Kai Havertz.
With just twenty minutes to go, Christian Pulisic made it four, and it was smooth sailing from there. Burnley could count themselves lucky that the scoring stopped with our American hero. A statement win to build on as the fixtures continue to come thick and fast across three competitions.
The first half performance was the only disappointment at the start of the match. As football showed its support for Ukraine, some travelling fans felt the need to respond to this by singing for Roman Abramovich. There were 90 more minutes for you to do that. There was absolutely no need to disrupt a brilliant show of unity. And as horrified as I was by it, I can only imagine what the man himself thought. I can only assume it was the very last thing he'd want. Timing is everything - and this was as disrespectful as it was embarrassing. Do better.
Reece James reminded everyone what Chelsea have been missing these past few months. Those questions marks over form and what happened after a brilliant start to the season. That. They were missing one of their most important players. Tuchel structured the team around the full backs and their driving force. And Reece James was every bit of that on Saturday afternoon. The title challenge could have been real had he and Chilly stayed fit.
Kai Havertz proved once again he understood the assignment. He's brilliant in that false 9 role. His movement is exceptional how he always manages to find space and ask questions of the opposition. It's something that's been lacking for much of this season. Not dropping any other £100m strikers in it. But the German gives the attacking players around him options and should be the first choice going forward.
With another Premier League match coming up mid-week, it's possible that Romelu Lukaku was being 'rested' for his return to the pitch. But it felt like a telling moment that Tuchel turned to Werner rather than the Belgian to close the match out. Timo always links up well with his countryman, causes chaos around the 18-yard box, and did pick himself up a goal and couple of assists to send Chelsea through to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
While Mason Mount looks still in the post-Euros haze a lot of his England team-mates have found themselves in this season, it's brilliant that Christian Pulisic looks to have finally found his feet within the team. The American has struggled with injury only finding a proper run during 'Project Restart'. But Saturday offered a timely reminder of what he can contribute when he's fully fit and flying. necessary for a tricky run-in.
Up next - Championship bound Norwich on Thursday.
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RESULT: Burnley 0-4 Chelsea
GOALS: James 48, Havertz 53, Havertz 55, Pulisic 69
CHELSEA XI: Mendy, James (Kovacic 70), Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Saul, Kante (Loftus-Cheek 70), Jorginho, Mount (Werner 78), Pulisic, Havertz
STAR MAN: Reece James
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