Opinion: Resilient 10-man Chelsea display proves Burnley are still fighting and in with a chance

In avoiding defeat in three consecutive league games for the first time this season, Burnley have just proven they’re still very much alive in the fight against relegation. There’s still a pulse.

After witnessing this incredible display of guts, determination, resilience and most importantly quality, that might even be underplaying it.

The gap to safety, as large as 11 points only a few weeks ago, now sits at just four.

When you’re chasing and the games are quickly running out, victories are the order of the day. But who knows, this hard-earned and thoroughly deserved point could well prove crucial come the end of the season.

Because of the circumstances of this game, with Burnley fighting back not once, but twice with 10 men, it’s easy to focus on the battling qualities that were on show.

In one way, that’s only right. Burnley deserve all sorts of credit for standing up and showing resolve when others might have wilted.

But this wasn’t just your typical backs-against-the-wall performance, this was more than that. The Clarets also showed quality and real tactical acumen in key moments. Crucially, in both boxes too, something that has too often been lacking this season.

Defensively Burnley were superb, producing countless blocks. Dara O’Shea and Maxime Esteve typified that, especially the latter who on one occasion even celebrated a last-ditch interception like he’d just scored a goal.

O’Shea, meanwhile, was actually able to celebrate a goal after leaping like a salmon to nod Burnley back on level terms.

Behind the defensive pairing, the centre backs will have had complete faith in Arijanet Muric, who was in supreme form for the second game running, pulling off some crucial stops and exuding an all-round confidence of someone who truly belongs in the top flight.

Yes, Cole Palmer aside, Chelsea were wasteful. Alarmingly so for such an expensively-assembled squad. But Burnley earned their luck, if you can even call it that.

In the other box, meanwhile, the Clarets were far more clinical than we’ve become accustomed to. Josh Cullen took his goal with aplomb and O’Shea stuck his header away like a good old-fashioned striker.

Again, there’s question marks over the goalkeeping for the second but Burnley more than deserved that goal, their second leveller of the day.

If we’re being selfish, Jay Rodriguez could have made it the dream trip to West London had he directed his follow-up into the back of the net, rather than wide, after the substitute had seen his header cannon back off the crossbar.

But it was an awkward effort, with the ball rebounding at a difficult height which gave him no option but to attempt an ambitious scissor kick. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite pull it off.

Can you imagine if he had, though? What a moment that would have been. You would genuinely have had to fear for some of those flailing limbs in that boisterous away end.

The travelling contingent were rightly proud of their players come full time. You’d like to think, even had Chelsea snatched a win right at the death, Kompany’s men would still have been given a raucous ovation at the end. It’s the least their efforts deserved.

Even before the moment of controversy (which we’ll get onto), with the game finely poised at 0-0, Burnley were looking like they could make something happen.

Defensively they were wide open, but in attack they were posing plenty of problems for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

They created some good chances, too. Arguably the better out of the two sides. Chelsea though, it has to be said, also looked dangerous every time they ventured forward, ably abetted by Palmer.

All in all, it made for a breathless affair from the very first minute to the last. But the game was turned on its head on the stroke of half-time when the home side were awarded the most dubious of all dubious penalties.

Lorenz Assignon, already on a yellow card, was booked again and given his marching orders after being adjudged to have brought Mykhailo Mudryk down inside the box. The contact, if there was any, was minimal, but Darren England bought the foul and pointed to the penalty spot.

A lengthy stoppage ensued before Palmer cheekily dinked the ball past Muric. During that time, an understandably furious Kompany was shown a straight red card for venting his frustration at the fourth official with one too many expletives.

While you shouldn’t condone the language or the behaviour, it’s hard to know how else to act after such a poor decision, especially when VAR got involved and decided there had been no clear and obvious error.

Trailing by a goal with a man down, you feared the worst. But we needn’t have worried, because the Clarets issued the perfect response by levelling within minutes of the restart with Cullen lashing one home following a quick give and go with Josh Brownhill.

Burnley held on nervously, yet bravely, for the remainder of the half, but you always felt Chelsea would find a way through eventually. So they did, with Palmer finding a rare pocket of space before drilling home.

But again, the lead lasted barely three minutes, with Burnley getting off the canvas for a second time to land a devastating blow through O’Shea.

A dramatic KO wasn’t to follow at the end, but we can’t have it all, can we?

As it is, this result has simply got to give Kompany’s men incredible belief they can still do this.

This point - already an exceptional one in isolation given the circumstances - will become even more significant should Burnley add three points against Wolves on Tuesday night.

Continue to perform like this and they’ve got every chance.