Chelsea were already without the likes of Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Pedro as they began their title defence at home to Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
After just 15 minutes, they were also reduced to ten men when Gary Cahill was given a straight red card.
The England international had overrun the ball slightly and, with Steven Defour about to seize possession, the 31-year-old lunged in.
There didn’t appear to be any intent on Cahill’s part, but his tackle was undoubtedly clumsy and the referee Craig Pawson barely hesitated before sending him off.
As much as we’d love to show you footage of the incident, Premier League rules stipulate we’re not allowed to. Instead, we’ve gone to the trouble of throwing together a few poor quality screengrabs so you get the idea of what happened.
With an extra man, Burnley soon went ahead through Sam Vokes. With six minutes to half-time, Stephen Ward doubled their lead before Vokes scored his second. A nightmarish start to the season for the champions.
