Chelsea made a dramatic start to their Premier League title defence after falling to a 3-2 defeat by Burnley at Stamford Bridge that featured red cards for Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas.

Here are three things learned from their opening day defeat.

CAHILL’S CARD CAN BE NO EXCUSE

Against the backdrop of Antonio Conte’s frustration at a lack of new arrivals and with the absence of key players Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Tiemoue Bakayoko, Gary Cahill’s 14th-minute dismissal was nothing short of a disaster.

Especially with Burnley’s physicality in the final third and at set-pieces and the Chelsea captain being his side’s best aerial presence in a defensive sense.

What came to pass in Cahill’s absence was chaotic, with Sam Vokes dragging Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz out of position and neither looking comfortable with the volume of high crossfield balls they were having to defend.

For Vokes’ second, Luiz left the Welsh striker and appeared to be more concerned with Rudiger. Unsurprisingly the Chelsea duo collided and Vokes had a free header.

However, the shambolic nature of what Chelsea descended into shouldn’t be solely squared at Cahill’s rash feet.

Full report here - https://www.infoislife.com/alvaro-morata-proves-hes-willing-adapt-chelsea-things-learned-burnley-win-3-2/