Newcastle United’s 4-1 victory at home has left the Clarets’ chances of making it through the Premier League in shambles. With two games remaining, the Magpies’ hammering on Saturday encapsulated everything that has gone wrong for Vincent Kompany’s team this season, as they are currently five points outside of safety.
In fact, Burnley got off to a strong start in the match. In the first fifteen minutes, they possessed 62% of the ball and had five shots to Newcastle’s one. Eddie Howe’s team was unable to service Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson up top as they were pressed back.
But Burnley was without a cutting edge once again. They were especially successful in getting right-back Lorenz Assignon open down the flank, although those high-risk scenarios frequently ended in failure. Burnley humiliated their rivals.
Another recurring topic followed. With frightening ease, Newcastle went on to score three goals before the half.
After Arijanet Muric had prevented Isak from losing the first battle, Wilson struck first. Anthony Gordon’s crossfield ball rendered Burnley vulnerable in the second. Following Maxime Esteve’s outmatch of Wilson, Sean Longstaff swiped home Jacob Murphy’s cut-back. Inside the Burnley box, Bruno Guimaraes was left in acres of open, and he went on to make it three.
Once again, Burnley was undone by a fast transition, and Newcastle eased off after the break, but not before Isak had missed a penalty and made amends by putting his team ahead 4-0.
Burnley has struggled all season long with the two key problems they displayed against Newcastle: offensive bluntness and defensive brittleness.
Let’s start with the last third, where they were ineffective. Even while Sheffield United (9.6) occasionally plays neatly, they still allow more shots per game (11.3) than Kompany’s team does. In addition, Burnley is top in terms of the percentage of shots from outside the penalty area (37%) and worst in terms of attempts inside the six-yard box (0.8 attempts per game). Given such figures, it should come as no surprise that Burnley has the lowest divisional cumulative xG (40.92).
Their failings when the ball isn’t in play have caused just as much harm. Newcastle is not the only team that can easily get through Burnley. Their performances have been vulnerable and naive throughout the entire season. Burnley went back to their usual ways in Saturday’s crucial match, despite their recent progress.
To put it plainly, Kompany’s team has been too simple to oppose. Their average number of tackles per game is just 16.1, which is the fourth lowest in the division. Only three teams—Manchester City, Arsenal, and Aston Villa—who usually control possession and win the majority of their games pose less obstacles.
It is difficult to escape the impression that Burnley was largely responsible for their own demise. While some have praised Burnley’s dedication to playing out from the back, they just aren’t good enough at it. Muric’s mistakes with the ball at his feet have resulted in goals for the opponents twice in the last few weeks.
Off the field, Kompany might be sorry about all the changes he made in the summer. After being promoted, Burnley invested more over £100 million in 15 new players. They foolishly let go of a large number of the players who had first helped them qualify for the Premier League throughout this process. Although some have subsequently been reintegrated, Burnley’s terrible beginning was partly caused by a lack of unity in the beginning.
The Clarets require a miracle after Newcastle thrashed them on Saturday. They would be eliminated if they did not defeat Tottenham on Saturday, and even it would not be sufficient should Nottingham Forest triumph over Chelsea. A year ago, Kompany was connected to the Spurs position. He needs to start preparing for his life in the Championship now.
