Burnley rediscovered its strong jaw with a hard-fought victory against promotion rivals Leeds United.
Sean Dyche frequently praised Burnley’s “strong jaw” after they executed a gutsy display to secure a hard-fought victory.
It’s fair to say we didn’t see much of it during last season’s disastrous Premier League campaign. While the level of competition did not always permit it, the Clarets were frequently their own worst opponent.
Burnley’s resilient performance at Elland Road on Saturday suggests they may have regained their strength.
Burnley manager Scott Parker admits the team isn’t playing progressive, free-flowing football as desired. However, considering the high turnover of players and the busy last few weeks of the transfer market, this was bound to happen.
Burnley has taken 10 points from their first five games, despite being thrown into the deep end with an opening weekend trip to Luton, a challenging away day against early pacesetters Sunderland, a fierce derby in the first month of the season, and a clash against their main promotion rivals in front of a hostile Elland Road crowd. And this is an understatement.
New beginnings.
What’s even more amazing is that there’s so much more to come. This is basically a new team.
Seven of the starting in the match against Leeds were signed this summer. Parker used the international break almost as a mini pre-season to get his thoughts across to his new team.
Parker had again demonstrated his willingness to be pragmatic in order to achieve a result, as well as his willingness to adapt to the opposition.
Leeds, under Daniel Farke, are possession-oriented and crave the ball. They’ve averaged just under 60% possession in their first five games, more than any other team in the division (Burnley is sixth in possession with 55%).
The key difference between the two teams is that Farke has been at Elland Road for 14 months and has a far more stable squad than Parker. His ideals and play style are fixed in stone.
There was no need for the Clarets to go head-to-head with the Whites, so they opted to sit back, absorb pressure, and attack them on the counter.
While it had mixed results, particularly in the first half, the Clarets finished the game with a clean sheet, and their winner, a spectacular solo run and finish from Luca Koleosho, came after a lightning-quick break. In that way, the task is done.
However, as is typically the case, there is a little more to it. Leeds did look menacing in the first 45 minutes, moving the ball between the lines and causing far too many overloads for Burnley’s comfort.
Parker’s team also had to rely on luck from the start of the game, as Mateo Joseph failed to hit the target when he went one-on-one with James Trafford after last man Maxime Esteve was dispossessed on the halfway line.
Earning the praise
Trafford was Burnley’s outstanding player, putting on a tremendous coming-of-age performance. We all know he can make impressive saves, and he demonstrated that on Saturday with three.
But the difference between this version of Trafford and the understandably inexperienced and sometimes overawed stopper we saw in the Premier League last season was the confidence with which he raced off his line to claim a dangerous and threatening ball into the Burnley box in the final seconds of the game.
As soon as the cross came in, you knew Trafford would make the catch. Last season, he was outmuscled and missed far too many passes. As many predicted, this season in the Championship, after being thrust into the spotlight in the top flight far too soon, will do him a world of good.
Game plan.
It’s unfair to describe this game as fully one-sided. It was a matter of possession, but as we all know, it does not necessarily tell the whole tale. Burnley generated a number of more decent opportunities, with Jaidon Anthony’s close-range effort being blocked after some well-worked build-up play and Joe Worrall headed over unmarked from a corner.
It doesn’t get much better than executing a game plan, especially away from home in a fixture like this one.
It’s still early; we’re just five games into a 46-game season. But there’s no denying that this was a significant win, dealing an early blow to the team most expected – before a ball was thrown, I hasten to add – to challenge Burnley for the league crown.
Finally, regardless of the outcome, how exciting was this game in comparison to the dreary, predictable events of last season?
It was a full-throttle match full of intensity and emotion, played in front of a loud crowd both at home and away.
When you add Hannibal’s excellent ‘housery’, which may need to be toned down a little before the eventual red card, this was a fantastic away day.
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