BlueLion.

Anyone who thinks this will be an easy game is well wide of the mark. They've lost one of their last 31 league matches.

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We'll lose or draw this as I'm seeing family that day. We never fucking win when I'm seeing family members. Sorry guys. Just wanted to get this excuse in early

Cesc Fabregas' majestic performance for Chelsea in Monday's defeat of Burnley has earned the Spaniard rave reviews amongst the British media. The Spaniard - a big-money acquisition from Barcelona this summer - was instrumental as Chelsea overcame an early set-back to defeat the Clarets 3-1. Fabregas was heavily involved in the build-up to the equaliser, netted by fellow débutante Diego Costa, and then supplied two assists as Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic completed a convincing win on opening weekend. But it was one pass in particular which left the capacity crowd at Turf Moor standing speechless with admiration - the Spaniard's exquisite through-ball for Schurrle's 21st-minute goal. At the end of a breathtaking passage of play, Fabregas capped off what will surely be considered to be amongst the team goals of the season with the twenty-fifth and final pass before Schurrle coolly slotted home. The ball was worked across the pitch quite magnificently, with Eden Hazard's mazy run opening up space for Branislav Ivanovic out on the right. The Serbian defender then showed impressive vision to pick out the late run of Fabregas at the edge of the box - but what the Spaniard did next was simply sublime. A lesser player would have taken a touch and lashed goalwards. On a wet and windy evening, the ball might even have skipped up off the greasy surface and beaten Tom Heaton - but instead Fabregas played a glorious, perfectly-weighted through-ball to Schurrle, who finished with aplomb. It was the sort of delicate touch you would expect from a player of Fabregas' technical ability, but the audacity for a player on début to try such a pass speaks volumes of the ex-Barcelona man's confidence. In the Monday evening wet, it would have been easy for the ball to have skipped off in any direction, but Schurrle didn't even need to break stride before finishing, such was the quality of the pass. For Fabregas to possess the awareness to see Schurrle's run was one thing, but to be able to touch the ball, first time, into the German's path was another matter entirely. Here are just a view highlights from our new maestro's magnificent maiden Chelsea match: View on Vimeo. Click here to view the article

I just saw that on Redtube.

But I agree, a fabulous debut from both of our new big money signings.

He'll be an interesting buy after QPR get relegated.

I don't think many people were serious with that... Courtois is an absolute tank!

Yeah, his kicking off the deck was poor tonight, but it was a very greasy surface so let's give him the benefit of the doubt. His distribution is usually quite decent, not as good as Cech's, mind, but good nonetheless.

Trying not to get carried away after that beastly performance.

He kept the ball like a miser!

José Mourinho lambasted referee Michael Oliver for giving Diego Costa a yellow card for diving in tonight's 3-1 win over Burnley. Costa was upended by Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton inside the penalty area in a first-half incident - but instead of Heaton being yellow-carded and the Blues awarded a penalty, it was Costa who was booked for simulation. Replays showed that Costa was indeed caught by the former Manchester United goalkeeper as he latched onto an awful backpass from Ben Mee. "I feel sorry for Diego", the Portuguese began, "because it is a penalty. Instead he is given a yellow card". What will aggrieve Mourinho the most is that yellow card may come back to haunt his side further down the line should Costa - who has been known to walk the disciplinary tightrope - pick up another four bookings before the end of the Premier League season. Mourinho also confirmed that, on a night where he placed his faith in new number one Thibaut Courtois, that the usurped Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech has received offers from other clubs. "I hope he stays to fight for his place", Mourinho said. "He hasn't asked to leave and I hope he doesn't. He won't relax and sit in his chair, he will fight to play. He deserves every respect from us. We want him to stay".

I needed the toilet!

This. Not just 11 individuals (moreorless) reliant on moments of genius from Hazard any more.

A miserly performance from Cesc Fabregas inspired Chelsea to a comfortable win over Burnley at Turf Moor. The former Arsenal and Barcelona man was at the centre of a brilliant Blues comeback after Scott Arfield had lashed the Clarets ahead with a composed volleyed finish inside 13 minutes. Fabregas first played a pivotal part in the equaliser, as his intelligent back-heeled pass was crossed in by Branislav Ivanovic. Burnley skipper Jason Shackell could only divert the ball against his own woodwork, leaving Diego Costa the freedom of the penalty area to lash home an instant leveller. And the diminutive Spaniard excelled himself when, at the end of a breath-taking passage of 25 Chelsea passes, he launched Ivanovic's clipped cross deftly into the path of the onrushing Andre Schurrle, with the German barely having to break stride to thread the ball under the advancing Tom Heaton. Ivanovic himself earned himself a goal his attacking exploits warranted when he headed in Fabregas' corner after 33 minutes to effectively end the game as a contest - and launch the Blues to the top of the Premier League table after the opening weekend. On another day, Chelsea might have pressed forward and looked to kill their opponents off, but in typical José Mourinho fashion, his side played within themselves after the break, soaking up Burnley pressure and looking to exploit space on the counter where possible. Burnley were not lacking in their efforts and against weaker opposition they would surely have fared far better, but the locals at Turf Moor will do well to see the attacking masterclass provided by Chelsea in the first half surpassed by another visitor this season. There was time even for a return for Didier Drogba in the game's final throes as the Blues comfortably saw out the final forty-five minutes without alarm. For a moment after Arfield's well-taken opener there were shades of Robbie Blake's winner against then-champions Manchester United in 2009, but the instant response from the left boot of Costa catalysed an attack avalanche from the Londoners. Fabregas was at the heart of everything good about the Blues, and whilst rivals may say "it was only Burnley", the Turf Moor club will have a shot of staying up if they can match their endeavours here tonight. Somewhere along the line, someone will slip up at a venue like Burnley's famous old ground, and it is on wet evenings like this that Premier League titles are won and lost. Burnley caused the Blues some problems - too many, one might argue - and but for a fine fingertip save from Courtois minutes into the second half, Arfield may well have fired the hosts back into contention with a cultured, curling effort. And whilst José Mourinho may pay little attention to his side's early league leadership, he will no doubt raise a quiet toast to the instant impact of his new match-winning Spanish duo. "[To play for Chelsea] was something I would never have expected, football has brought me here and I will give my best to make it work for me and Chelsea", Fabregas explained after the game. On this evidence, Cesc, it's working. Click here to view the article

Cech will stay and fight for his place, as he did when Cudicini was first choice in 2004.

José is always wary of playing newly-promoted sides so perhaps it's not that much of a surprise.

Banter by José as Hilario starts. Confirmed.

Burnley will throw the kitchen sink at us in the first 20 minutes. All we have to do is soak it up and hit them on the counter and this should be relatively straightforward. It won't be a 3-0 or 4-0 win though, sorry to disappoint you guys. Promoted teams have nothing to lose by going for it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck one past young Thibaut. 2-1 win for the Chels and I'll be happy.

Oh yeah, totally agree with that. I'm just saying he's an option in dire circumstances, or if José wants to experiment with something different. Hence there's no need to splash out on another striker when we have three out and out CFs, another guy (Schurrle) who can fill the void, and players like Hazard or Cesc who, in a worst-case scenario, could be played as a False 9.

Agreed, but he isn't some kind of David Luiz-style catastrophe of a defender, as your first post inferred. He's a solid, usually dependable workhorse who is never afraid to put his body on the loan. A solid 7/10 player, a lot like Gary Cahill. He'll never set the world alight but he does a good job and rarely lets you down.

He had, what, three games last season as a CF, in his debut season in England? Hardly fair to judge him by that. He can't be any worse than Torres.

Is he? For me he was quite clearly their best defender last season - Kompany was exposed as the good-but-not-brilliant defender he truly is, and it was Demichelis for the most part of the season was the real rock in City's back four. He had an inconsistent start to life in England but beyond that he was excellent. I agree with you that selling Nastasic would be an idiotic move, though. If Richards is available, we should make a move. Perfect homegrown squad signing.