What is it about Burnley that rubs opposition managers up the wrong way?

Freak results and fairytales happen all the time in football. It’s what gives the FA Cup its magic. It is why the world cheered when Leicester won the Premier League.

Except, when Burnley do it - and I am not just talking about fairytales here, even just unlikely results - reaction isn’t always so positive. 

We have already felt the sting of Klopp’s whining (although, to be fair, who hasn’t?). And who can forget the Special One gatecrashing Goals on Sunday to practically make a Citizens Arrest against Ashley Barnes.

So it perhaps should have come as no surprise at all to hear Tuchel going immediately defensive after failing to secure three home points against everyone’s favourite enemy. 

“Lucky”
“Stole a point”

Whatever… we have heard it all before and I am sure we will hear it again.

So on to the only narrative that actually matters - our boys using the catalyst that was their first win of the season to take a point from one of the toughest away games of the season. Champions League winners, Chelsea.

That was the Burnley we know and love. Nick Pope at his show-stopping finest. The Holy Trinity maintaining a resilient defensive line to keep the score down to 1-0.

Then taking the only chance they had to equalise. With just enough minutes in the clock to hold out too. God love Matej Vydra. 

Regular readers will have heard me talking about how a lack of options on the bench hinders our ability to change a game. But we did that on Saturday. We brought on a hungry striker, one desperate to get back to full fitness and prove himself, and it worked.

Matej only needed a sniff of that goal and suddenly we were level. I am particularly pleased for the fans who made that journey down to Stamford Bridge. What a reward for their commitment to the cause.

So where does that leave us now that the Premier League takes a week off to concentrate on international fixtures? Disappointingly still in the bottom three, but that gap is closing.

Imagine how bleak that table would have looked if we had failed to beat Brentford and lost the Chelsea game.

Suddenly, we have something I was beginning to think had been lost. Hope. I genuinely don’t care if we finish 17th on goals scored, we just need to survive. And maybe, just maybe, our early-season fears were just that.

Enjoy your week off and see you all at Turf for Palace.

UTC