By Bonface Mulyungi

Chelsea’s 10 men were stunned by a Zian Flemming header in the third minute of added time as Burnley stole a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

João Pedro’s goal in the fourth minute had looked like being the winner but the Blues wilted terribly after Wesley Fofana’s sending off for a second booking 20 minutes from the end, leaving the door ajar for Flemming to score from a James Ward-Prowse corner.

Chelsea are much improved since Liam Rosenior took charge but they still look unsure of how to finish off opponents.

The visitors had barely a sniff after João Pedro had shovelled Pedro Neto’s cross over the line, with Cole Palmer showing some of his very best form as Scott Parker’s struggling side were made to look like they were a Championship team already.

Yet Chelsea’s issue this season has been ill-discipline, and they were shown an eighth red card of the campaign when Fofana went in late on Ward-Prowse.

Flemming’s goal was painful to take and it ought to have been worse, Jacob Bruun Larsen powering a free header over the bar with virtually the final action.

By Bonface Mulyungi

SL Benfica returned to the Estádio da Luz to take on AVS this weekend with the opportunity to make up ground on rivals Sporting CP and FC Porto. These two clubs found themselves on opposite ends of the table going into Saturday’s clash. Benfica, currently third in the league, have not lost a match in the Primeira Liga this season and have won five of their last six in the competition. Meanwhile, the Vila das Aves club sat at the bottom of the table with just eight points from 22 matches. No team has conceded more goals than AVS, with João Henriques’ side allowing 54 goals already in the league.

Despite AVS’s 3-0 victory last weekend over Estoril Praia, this was a match that the Eagles were expected to command, and José Mourinho’s side did just that. It became clear early on that AVS were outmatched in this tie, with Benfica dominating the possession and chances from the opening minute onwards. Goals from Alexander Bah, Enzo Barrenechea and Rafa Silva gave the Lisbon side a comfortable lead going into the half. The second half was more of the same, and while AVS showed some steel, there was little chance of a comeback after a one-sided first half.

The win sees Benfica move to 55 points on the season, three points behind Sporting and four points behind Porto (although the Dragons do have a game in hand).

First half blitz gives Benfica commanding lead

It didn’t take long for Benfica to get going. Some cohesive build up work down the left side between Schjelderup and Pavlidis saw the ball eventually drop to the latter in the box and the striker lashed a low shot. AVS keeper Adriel did well to get down and save the attempt, but Bah was on hand to collect the rebound and thrash home his first goal of the campaign.

In the 15th minute, it was Schjelderup and Pavildis once again tormenting the AVS defenders. Some slick passing inside the box ended with a close-range shot for the Greek striker. His attempt, though, drifted just wide of the post.

The home side continued to control the possession, and in the 26th minute, that nearly led to a second. This time, it was Enzo Barrenechea blazing his shot over the goal.

Barrenechea, not known for his goalscoring ability, was undeterred, and just three minutes later, he was able to take advantage of some poor defending from a corner, unleashing a powerful left-footed shot that left Adriel with little chance. A delightful strike from the Argentine central midfielder to record his second of the campaign.

Pavlidis continues to show his quality as the game progressed. A phenomenal run from the centre circle, combined with some smart passing, saw the forward connect with a perfectly timed through ball from Schedlerup. His right-footed toe poke,though, was aimed directly at Adriel.

Rafa’s wondergoal puts Benfica three up

In the 43rd minute, a moment of magic from Rafa Silva. Regarded as a fan favourite at the club, the player, who recently returned after a stint in Turkey with Beşiktaş, pulled off a stunning goal just before the half. A low cross from Sidney Cabral found the 32-year-old just outside the six-yard box. Rafa’s first touch may not have been perfect, leaving the ball rolling around under his legs. He made up for his first touch with a brilliant improvised rabona, wrapping his right foot around to clip the ball past a crowded box and into the net. A special goal from a player who made his Benfica debut nearly a decade ago.

The visitors were completely outplayed in the opening 45 minutes. There were few positives to take from their first half performance. Babatunde Akinsola did his best to try and penetrate down the right wing, but aside from a few dangerous runs from the Nigerian, AVS hardly troubled Benfica’s back four.

Benfica continue to pepper AVS goal in second half

AVS, shell-shocked in the opening half, came out with a more positive approach in the second. Henriques started to push bodies forward and even brought on Óscar Perea and Tiago Galletto as he looked to inject some energy into his team.

Benfica still maintained the majority of the possession and were quick to fill any gaps on the pitch. Barrenechea and Ríos controlled the midfield while the constant threat of Schjelderup and Cabral down the wings ensured AVS’ defenders could not step too far out of line.

In the 63rd minute, a perfectly weighted cross nearly found Ríos for Benfica’s fourth. In the 67th minute, it was Cabral with the near miss when his shot bounced off the post. Pavlidis was inches away from his first of the match in the 70th after collecting the ball, turning, and striking a low shot that was deflected just wide. In the 77th minute, a rocket from Antonio Silva sailed just over the bar.

By Bonface Musyoka

Champions Barcelona trail Madrid by two points but can overtake them on Sunday if they beat Levante at Camp Nou.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid put on a below-par performance in Pamplona and fell behind to an Ante Budimir penalty, before Vinicius Junior pulled the visitors level.

The second leg of Madrid’s Champions League play-off against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on Wednesday seemed to play on their minds as they failed to kick on at El Sadar.

Vinicius, who scored a sensational goal to give Madrid a slender first-leg lead but was then the victim of alleged racial abuse, thought he had earned his team a point before Garcia blasted home the winner.

“It was not a good game from us… we have to play a lot better,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“Nobody likes to lose, us least of all, but we’re not hurt. There’s a long way to go.

“We had control at some points but we lacked speed in our play… on Wednesday we have another final, another game that is very important for us.”

Croatian target man Budimir curled narrowly wide of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’s far post early on, the first of many problems he gave the visitors.

The Belgian stopper made an excellent save a few minutes later, after Budimir tried to nod home Ruben Garcia’s cross under pressure from Alvaro Carreras.

Budimir also clipped the post with a header as Osasuna impressed, with their victory helping them rise to ninth.

Madrid defender David Alaba came close when Alejandro Catena blocked his shot, shortly before the hosts took the lead.

Budimir burst into the area and went down under a challenge from Courtois. Although he was initially booked for diving a VAR review showed the goalkeeper stood on his foot.

The veteran forward took the resulting penalty himself and sent Courtois the wrong way to give Osasuna the lead.

“I knew it was a penalty and I wanted to stay cool (while it was being reviewed),” said Budimir.

Osasuna sat deep at times in the second half, looking to fend off 15-time European champions Madrid.

Arda Guler came close with a vicious shot that flew just over.

Chasing an equaliser, Arbeloa threw on creative duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Brahim Diaz and his team began to take control.

French superstar Kylian Mbappe put the ball in the back of Osasuna’s net but had edged offside, although the equaliser was not long in coming.

Fede Valverde charged into the box with the ball, unperturbed by Osasuna’s defenders bouncing off him, before crossing for Vinicius to tuck home.

It was the Brazilian’s fifth goal in his last four games across all competitions, having found his best form since Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm in January.

– Wasted chance –

Mbappe, La Liga’s top goalscorer, should have put Madrid ahead with 10 minutes to go but Javi Galan brilliantly blocked his shot.

Alexander-Arnold curled a free-kick wide as the clock ticked down and it looked like Madrid were left ruing two points dropped, when the third was taken away from them too.

Raul Garcia cut inside the sliding Raul Asencio brilliantly and fired across Courtois and in at the far post.

The striker’s celebrations were cut short by the offside flag but a VAR review showed he was onside and the goal was given.

It was the first time Osasuna have beaten Madrid in La Liga for 15 years.

“It’s an incredible feeling… I think (that fact) is crazy. The fans deserved a victory like this after so many years,” Raul Garcia told DAZN.

“When I saw (Asencio) coming I knew he was going to go to ground and after that I stayed calm to swerve him and was able to score.”

Real Betis, fifth, were held 1-1 at home against Rayo Vallecano earlier Saturday, leaving them three points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Diego Simeone’s side host Espanyol later on, aiming to make amends after last weekend’s 3-0 defeat by Rayo.