PREMIER LEAGUE STRUGGLERS Burnley earned a shock 1-1 draw at 10-man Chelsea thanks to Ben Mee’s late header at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
Chelsea had taken the lead inside the opening quarter of an hour thanks to Branislav Ivanovic’s fourth goal in six games in all competitions, and they looked comfortable for large periods.
However, Nemanja Matic was sent off with 20 minutes remaining for reacting angrily to a challenge from Ashley Barnes — a dismissal which will likely see the midfielder miss the upcoming League Cup final against Tottenham.
Seemingly buoyed by that sending off, Burnley snatched an equaliser with nine minutes to go as Mee rose highest to head in Kieran Trippier’s left-wing corner.
Chelsea had the first sight of goal in the fifth minute when Tom Heaton tipped over Juan Cuadrado’s header after a cross from Filipe Luis — called back into the side as one of four changes from their meeting with PSG in midweek.
But the hosts were in front nine minutes later thanks to Ivanovic’s close-range finish. Michael Kightly was robbed by Cuadrado who fed Hazard, and the Belgian weaved his way to the byline before cutting the ball back for Ivanovic to convert from inside the six-yard box.
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Ivanovic thought he should have had a penalty in the 32nd minute when his shot struck the arm of Kightly inside the area, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away the appeals.
Chelsea felt they should have been awarded a spot-kick for a second time just before the interval when Burnley captain Jason Shackell pushed Diego Costa to the floor, but once again Atkinson decided in favour of the visitors.
Thibaut Courtois was not called into serious action until five minutes into the second half, when he reacted smartly to tip Barnes’ deflected shot over the crossbar.
Chelsea responded as Costa brought a save out of Heaton five minutes later, the Spain international going in search of his 18th league goal of the campaign.
Tempers threatened to boil over in the 70th minute, when Barnes went over the top of the ball in a challenge on Matic, who angrily pushed the striker to the floor and was shown a straight red card, while the Burnley man went unpunished.
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Barnes, perhaps fortunate to remain on the field, thought he had found an equaliser 10 minutes later but Courtois produced a superb one-handed save low to his right.
However, from the resulting corner, Mee headed home to spark scenes of jubilation among Burnley players and fans alike.
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Deep into stoppage time, Danny Ings broke away as Burnley looked to steal an unlikely winner, but the striker fired wired of the target from the edge of the area.
At Villa Park, a stoppage-time penalty from Victor Moses spoiled Tim Sherwood’s first match in charge of Aston Villa, as Stoke City earned a 2-1 victory.
Sherwood saw his side remain in the bottom three after Ron Vlaar hauled down Moses, with the forward coolly converting from 12 yards after the defender had seen red.
Scott Sinclair was able to take one of the few chances the home side created as he headed in his first top-flight goal since August 2012 after 20 minutes, but Stoke restored parity before the break.
Mame Biram Diouf met Stephen Ireland’s cross seven yards from goal and placed his header past Brad Guzan on the goalkeeper’s 100th successive league start.
A second half devoid of quality and chances failed to lift the atmosphere inside Villa Park, with Stoke slightly edging proceedings before Moses’ winner. Villa drop a place in the table after the defeat, while Stoke remain mid-table.
Elsewhere, Dame N’Doye marked his 30th birthday with a last-minute goal as Hull City claimed a vital 2-1 win over fellow Premier League strugglers QPR at the KC Stadium.
A nervy affair was brought to life after 16 minutes when a defensive error allowed Nikica Jelavic to fire home for the hosts, before QPR captain Joey Barton was shown a red card for lashing out at Tom Huddlestone.
Despite Hull’s numerical advantage, Charlie Austin — who failed a medical at Hull back in 2013 — was on hand to restore parity just before half-time, flicking home a teasing cross from Matt Phillips.
A dull second half seemed set to ensure QPR claimed an unlikely point, before N’Doye fired home at the death to earn his side a second consecutive league win.
It is the first time Hull, who are now up to 15th, have sealed back-to-back league victories since September 2013, handing a massive boost to boss Steve Bruce.
QPR, meanwhile, are above the relegation zone on goal difference alone ahead of home games against Arsenal and Tottenham.
