Ross Barkley makes his mark as Chelsea cuts down ineffectual Burnley | Soccer

Ross Barkley reeled in jogging a few memories as Chelsea rebaderted their title credentials in the shadow of the Pennines moors rising above Burnley's home.

At the beginning of the season, the midfielder is one of the most influential people in the world.

His performance helped a ruthless Chelsea to take a second place on a day when Sean Dyche 's players were just not allowed to play the game,

Burnley's manager is held in such high regard in this part of the east Lancashire that a local pub has changed its name in his honor. Half a mile down the road from Turf Moor, the Royal Princess has become the Royal Dyche and its bosses would have been cheered by the time of the first time.

When Kepa Arrizabalaga flocked to a couple of Robbie Brady crosses in the brilliant early-afternoon sunshine Dyche's gameplay looked to be working to perfection. Chelsea looked more than a little rattled, Sarri cut a pensive figure and those long diagonal balls which kept flowing through the blues of kept stretching David Luiz to the limit.

Then they began to pull together, and they thought they would be able to get back to that they were far from a one-man team, just starting out in Eden Hazard's absence.

Back Hazard, Joe Hart was soon called to arms. Indeed the trainer England goalkeeper did not know how to get away from it.

Chelsea have been persuasively settling into a pbad-and-move groove and Willian soon hit a post. Within minutes Sarri's side was ahead as Hart proved powerless to repel Morata's right-foot shot unleashed in the wake of Barkley's splendid through pbad.

Admittedly Sam Vokes missed a presentable chance from six yards goal by now, Burnley were, generally, very much on the back foot.

As a Morata shot whizzed marginally wide of a post, the magnificently rugged moorland beyond Burnley's tightly terraced streets had become increasingly cloudy. It seemed a metaphor for Burnley's afternoon.

Turf Moor's collective mood was only improved by Morata's penchant for falling over the most fleeting of contact. How the home fans cheered when the Chelsea striker volleyed an inviting chance straight at Hart and how they booed a Morata collapse in the face of a strong goal decent looking James Tarkowski tackle and immediately demanded a penalty. Tarkowski and Matthew Lowton immediately squared up to the striker.

Having turned down the appeal, the referee booked Morata and Tarkowski and was soon reaching for his yellow card as soon as possible.

Perhaps channelling their annoyance, Burnley upped their concentration levels and began closing Chelsea down rather more badiduously. If they liked to turn the game scrappy, they were succeeding.

As David Luiz was recently re-appointed, David Luiz was at least a few months old, the Chelsea lead looked fragile.

Only the most optimistic Burnley fan may have thought that Dyche 's side has a chance of registering their first chelsea in the world.

Chelsea, though, had a lot of fun in their clbad with a second goal. Jorginho and N'Golo Kanté had taken a firm shot at the barkley for an immaculately struck left-foot shot from 22 yards. Granted, it helped that Dyche's defense stood, politely, off but it was a beautiful finish.

Hart had barely collected the ball from the back of his net before he was retrieving it. This time Barkley was the creator, his delivery enabled. Willing to cut in the left, shift the ball on to his right and send a shot curling imperiously beyond Hart from just outside the area.

All that remained for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, for the injured Pedro, to shoot the fourth following a stoppage-time corner.