Ten-player Burnley rallied impressively to come from behind twice and claim a valiant 2-2 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was met with another backlash at Stamford Bridge after his side failed to make the most of an extra man for the entire second half against second-bottom Burnley.
The Blues appeared on course to cruise to victory after Lorenz Assignon was harshly sent off for pulling down Mykhailo Mudryk inside the area.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was also shown a red card for taking his protests too far.
Cole Palmer coolly chipped in the resulting penalty, but the 10 men levelled two minutes into the second half thanks to Josh Cullen’s super finish from outside the box.
Raheem Sterling had been booed off in Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester a fortnight ago but thought he had set up the winner in style with a flick that Palmer stroked into the far corner.
Chelsea, however, failed to hold out again as Dara O’Shea headed in a corner nine minutes from time to leave Pochettino’s men still in the bottom half of the table.
Chelsea’s unbeaten run extends to five games in all competitions but that will be scant consolation for Pochettino, who was forced to watch his side twice throw away a valuable lead against a side with 10 players, languishing 19th in the table.
All of the three Premier League title challengers are in action on Sunday.
Liverpool have the chance to go top when they host Brighton before Manchester City and Arsenal kick-off at the Etihad Stadium in a clash of huge significance in the title race.
Chelsea are back at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as they welcome Manchester United to west London. They then visit Sheffield United the following Sunday.
Burnley host Wolves on Tuesday night in their next game. They then travel to Goodison Park with a huge relegation six-pointer with Everton next Saturday.