Chelsea play Burnley at home in the Premier League on Saturday. (GETTY, bxns_hyfr/X, Samueldinho_10/X)
Chelsea play Burnley at home in the Premier League on Saturday. (GETTY, bxns_hyfr/X, Samueldinho_10/X)
Fans reacted to the non-inclusion of defender Jorrel Hato in Chelsea's XI for their Premier League clash at home with Burnley on Saturday (February 21). Hato has started thrice in 11 outings in the league this season.
The Dutchman hasn't played the full 90 minutes in his last seven Premier League mtaches, accumulating a cumulative 200 minutes of game time, making no goal contribution.
Hato came off the bench and played 45 minutes in the Blues' last league game, a 2-2 home draw with Leeds United. Head coach Liam Rosenoir opted to keep the Dutchman off the starting XI once more. Malo Gusto, who was partly at fault for the second Leeds goal is starting again, which hasn't enthused fans.
"Why play Gusto out of possible when u got Hato," another commented.
"Good to see Lavia back. Should have Hato at LB and surprised Sarr hasn’t been given the nod," one tweeted.
"Gusto left back. We are in for a long evening," another posted.
The aforementioned Leeds stalemate snapped the Blues' four-game winning streak in the league, keeping them fifth in the standings after 26 games, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal (58), who have played a game more.
Chelsea vs Burnley: A few tidbits
Liam Rosenoir's Chelsea play Burnley on Saturday in the Premier League.
Liam Rosenoir's Chelsea play Burnley on Saturday in the Premier League.
Chelsea have a commanding Premier League record against their upcoming opponents, Burnley, winning 13 of 19 games, losing once. The sole defeat was a 3-2 setback on the opening day of the 2017-18 campaign.
Having lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland and 3-1 at Leeds United earlier this season, the Blues are looking to avoid losing to all three promoted teams in a single campaign.
Liam Rosenoir's side won the reverse fixture 2-0 away in November, with Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez scoring either side of the break. Since that game, Neto has netted just once in his next 14 league outings, having not scored in 12 outings since the aforementioned defeat at Leeds in December.