𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

As the clock ticked into the 93rd minute and James Ward-Prowse lined up a corner kick in front of the Matthew Harding Stand, only two people inside Stamford Bridge did not appear to know what was coming.

One was fellow Burnley sub Loum Tchaouna, who offered a short option before a member of Scott Parker’s staff leapt up and bellowed furiously at him to get back into the penalty area.

The other was the Chelsea player who failed to mark Zian Flemming, the biggest aerial threat in the Burnley team. The Dutchman duly nodded a crushing equaliser beyond Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea surrendering the lead had felt entirely predictable, if not quite inevitable, from the moment Wesley Fofana was shown a red card in the 72nd minute.

They have dropped 19 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, of which 17 have been lost at Stamford Bridge. Seven have been lost after going down to 10 men.

Chelsea were supposed to be refreshed, mentally and physically, after a rare free week that enabled many of the squad to treat themselves to some well-earned sun, in Dubai and elsewhere.

But despite breaching Burnley within four minutes, they allowed the same, sloppy sense of drift that had encouraged Leeds on their previous outing at Stamford Bridge to infect this game, as it has on too many other occasions this season.

They cannot allow it to happen again.