August is perhaps too early to label a PL game a ‘six-pointer’, but Burnley’s clash with Sunderland certainly had that feel to it.
The Clarets almost started in terrible fashion too, as Dan Ballard’s header back across goal was fired goalwards by Eliezer Mayenda, but from point-blank range, Martin Dúbravka pulled off a stunning save to keep the scores level.
The chances kept on coming for the Black Cats, who again spurned a glorious opening to take the lead when Chemsdine Talbi clipped an effort over Dúbravka but inches wide of the far post.
Burnley’s first meaningful attack of the game did see the ball hit the back of the net when Lyle Foster fired home off the underside of the bar, but both referee Michael Salisbury and VAR confirmed the South African had fouled Jenson Seelt in the build-up.
Quality was in short supply in this clash, with both sides enjoying periods of dominance, but translating that into a meaningful advantage was proving to be problematic.
That was a point illustrated on the stroke of HT by Granit Xhaka, who was afforded the freedom of Turf Moor on the edge of the area, but snatched at his effort and dragged it well wide of the post.
And Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony was equally as wasteful with the final kick of the first half as he headed Hannibal’s cross wide at the far post when he ought to have at least hit the target.
Keen to ensure the same wasn’t the case after half-time, Scott Parker’s men flew out of the traps.
This time, their efforts yielded the opening goal, as some neat interplay down the left culminated in Josh Cullen curling home within two minutes of the restart after a deft Anthony flick teed him up perfectly.
After some faulty floodlights temporarily delayed the game, Regis Le Bris made a triple substitution just after the hour mark in an attempt to change the flow of the game, but his changes struggled to have the desired effect as they failed to get a foothold in the game.
Their silver lining came from the fact that Burnley weren’t looking particularly threatening, so the game remained on a knife-edge going into the closing stages.
Burnley came under some intense pressure in the dying moments, but as the best defensive side in EFL history last season, it was unsurprising to see them come up trumps.
In fact, they made the victory a whole lot more handsome in the 88th minute when Anthony broke clear, rounded Robin Roefs, and rolled into an empty net.
They’re now level on points with Sunderland, who suffered their first defeat of the season and were handed a harsh reality check after last week’s win against West Ham United.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Josh Cullen (Burnley)
