Manager Vincent Kompany was “beyond proud” of Burnley for overcoming his dismissal and falling behind twice to hold Chelsea to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League, assistant Craig Bellamy has said.
Cole Palmer gave the Blues a 44th-minute lead with a penalty after visiting defender Lorenz Assignon and Kompany were dismissed at Stamford Bridge.
Burnley are winless in seven away matches but equalised through Josh Cullen two minutes after the break and levelled again through Dara O’Shea’s 81st-minute header after Palmer had restored Chelsea’s lead.
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“We’re so proud,” said Bellamy. “In the first half, every time we had possession we felt there was an opportunity.
“Even when we went down to 10 men – okay, we were able to regroup a little at half-time, which helped – but it’s not easy when you’re 1-0 down at Stamford Bridge. The commitment… we were beyond proud.”
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Chelsea had won five of their previous six league matches at home but could not produce another victory despite their numerical advantage against opponents 22 points below them.
“We had to reshuffle,” Bellamy said of his side’s approach at the break. “We knew we had to be realistic when we had possession with opportunities to go forward.
“We picked the right moments and were very well organised. We were able to press from there.
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“The manager got his point across with his belief that we were still in it, and we really were.
“To go 2-1 behind, you can only get it back to 2-2 if you have belief. If you keep really positive and keep coming in every day working as hard as you can, something will go your way.”
The second-bottom Clarets are four points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest but are now three games unbeaten.
Their fate in the top flight could depend upon the result of Forest’s appeal against a four-point deduction imposed upon them over Premier League financial rules.
