Alonso stunner on return earns Chelsea easy win over shot-shy Burnley

Marcos Alonso was on target on his return to the Chelsea side as Thomas Tuchel registered his first win as Blues boss after a 2-0 home success over a toothless Burnley side.

The home side dominated throughout and won courtesy of strikes from skipper Cesar Azpilicueta and the returning Alonso in either half.

The Clarets were woeful as an attacking force and took until the final minute of stoppage time to have their only effort on goal in the game.

Alonso made his first Chelsea appearance since September as Tuchel took charge of his second match at the Blues helm.

The Spain star came in at left wing-back while new boss Tuchel restored Mason Mount to his starting XI.

Alonso had fallen out of favour under Frank Lampard, with his last appearance under the former Blues manager coming when he was substituted at half-time in the eventual 3-3 draw at West Brom on September 26.

Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho again formed a deep midfield pairing, while Timo Werner sat in behind Tammy Abraham up front.

Sean Dyche paired Matej Vydra with Chris Wood up front for the Clarets, with Jack Cork starting in midfield.

The home side dominated the opening period, regiseting 10 appempts on goal – with four of them on target.

However, they had to wait until the 40th minute before they took the lead.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s smart reverse ball in the box begged Azpilicueta to have a crack, and the Blues skipper delivered a fine finish to claim Chelsea’s first goal under new manager Tuchel.

Cesar Azpilicueta TEAMtalk

The German made a change at the break, bringing on Christian Pulisic for Abraham to give strengthen his midfield.

And the Blues continued to dominate as Timo Werner tested Nick Pope before Antonio Rudiger fired an effort wide.

A rare corner Burnley corner led to Chelsea’s next attack as Hudson-Odoi’s deflected effort hit the woodwork after a quick break.

Clarets’ jug completely empty

The Clarets, who stil hadn’t a single shot on goal up to the hour mark, were forced into a change when danger man Chris Wood was forced off – Johann Gudmundsson coming on.

It should have game over with 17 minutes to when Hudson-Odoi charged down the right before finding Pulisic, who should have scored but screwed his effort wide.

Pope needed to be alert again to keep out a Reece James effort with his feet as the one-way traffic continued.

The points were finally wrapped up in the 83rd minute thanks to an excellent strike from the returning Alonso.

Pulisic found the Spaniard in the area, with Alonso controlling on his chest, spinning and lashing a fierce strike past Pope.

The victory was Chelsea’s first at home since before Christmas, while Burnley’s mini revival came to an abrupt end as they registered just one effort on target in the game.