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LONDON. — Sam Vokes scored twice as Burnley torpedoed defending champions Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in one of the most sensational opening-weekend results in English top-flight football history.
Chelsea had captain Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas sent off and Burnley took full advantage through Vokes’s brace and a superb Stephen Ward effort, with goals from Alvaro Morata and David Luiz coming in vain.
Leicester City lost 2-1 at Hull City on the first day last season, but given the unexpected nature of their title win, this was the biggest opening-day shock since Manchester United’s 3-1 loss at Aston Villa in 1995.
“It was a pity because our fight in the second half was very good,” said Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
“But our first half, we kept losing our heads. After the red card we lost our heads, conceded two goals and then it’s very difficult to change the final result.”
Big-spending Manchester City won 2-0 at promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, while Huddersfield Town marked their top-flight return with a fine 3-0 win at Crystal Palace that sent them top of the table.
Burnley’s win, their first at Chelsea since 1971, further blackened the mood around Stamford Bridge after a close season during which Conte has grown frustrated by his club’s lack of transfer activity.
Conte was without the injured Eden Hazard and out-of-favour striker Diego Costa, while £58 million signing Morata started on the bench.
Youth-team graduate Jeremie Boga made his debut, but was hauled off in the reshuffle that followed Cahill’s 14th-minute dismissal for a studs-up foul on Steven Defour.
Vokes put Burnley ahead in the 24th minute, volleying in from Matthew Lowton’s cross. — AFP.
Online Reporter