Pat Nevin says Chelsea did well to come away from Burnley with a point at the weekend due to the weather conditions.
Antonio Conte’s outfit put in a mediocre display at Tur Moor on Sunday afternoon, earning a 1-1 draw after blowing away some of their other opponents for most of the campaign so far.
Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois spoke of the team struggling to deal with the conditions after the game and club legend Nevin has agreed with him, praising some of Conte’s men for playing in weather they are not familiar with.
“I am sure the likes of Diego Costa, David Luiz and Willian can also recall many days of growing up, playing in the warm sunshine and experiencing the sheer joy of football,” he wrote in his column for chelseafc.com.
“Think also of Pedro and Cesc Fabregas as the sun shone on their backs on warm summer evenings in Barcelona, as they tried to turn the game of football into the art form imagined by the likes of that great master Johan Cruyff.
“Then try to imagine how different that all feels to an absolutely freezing, wet, windy February day at Turf Moor, Burnley. With threatening leaden grey skies overhead and a gritty northern realism oppressively surrounding the entire occasion; from the local skyline, to the opposition manager’s voice and his team’s harsh unsentimental style of play.
“If ever there was an afternoon to test Chelsea’s character and any apparent southern softness, Sunday was the day.”
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
