How Burnley Battled Bravely In The Premier League
After a dominant run to the Championship title, the 2023/24 season saw Burnley return to the top flight of English football, with the Vertu Motors-backed side having reclaimed a spot in the Premier League at the first attempt.
A busy pre-season saw Vincent Kompany bring in a number of new signings in a bid to strengthen his team, with big money deals seeing the likes of James Trafford, Jordan Beyer, Sander Berge and Zeki Amdouni arrive – the latter for a new club record fee.
A home game against defending champions Manchester City was a difficult way to start the campaign and there was little surprise when the visitors emerged victorious, taking a regulation 3-0 win at Turf Moor.
Further defeats against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur left Burnley without a point after three games, although there had been a first victory of the campaign in the middle after a last minute strike from Amdouni saw off the challenge of Nottingham Forest in the second round of the EFL Cup.
It was against the same opponents that the first point of the season was picked up in mid-September, with Amdouni once again on the scoresheet at the City Ground as Burnley held Forest to a draw before an unfortunate loss to Manchester United in which the home side dominated at Turf Moor but were beaten by a goal from Bruno Fernandes.
Although Salford City were dispatched with ease in the third round of the League Cup, the wait for a league win would run into October, with three points finally secured thanks a late goal from Jacob Bruun Larsen.
That would prove to something of a false dawn however, as a difficult run of form saw Kompany’s side slide to six successive league defeats and slip out of the League Cup with a narrow loss to Everton.
Heading into December, Burnley found themselves bottom of the table but an emphatic 5-0 success over Sheffield United provided some reason to cheer – and a first home victory of the campaign.
A draw with Brighton later in the month and an impressive 2-0 success on the road at Fulham provided reason for optimism but heading into the New Year, Burnley were still five points from safety in the drop zone.
The New Year however provided no upturn in fortunes, with a third-round exit in the FA Cup away at Tottenham and a winless run in the league that left Burnley sitting eleven points away from 17th place and with just eleven games remaining.
That run of vital games kicked off with a trip to West Ham, with a strike from January loan signing David Datro Fofana and an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos putting Burnley 2-0 up at the break. However, West Ham battled back and grabbed a point at the death when former Burnley man Danny Ings netted the equaliser in stoppage time.
Despite the disappointment of the lost points, the draw kicked off an improved run of form, with a win against Brentford a week later courtesy of goals from Bruun Larsen and Fofana – and an impressive Premier League debut from Arijanet Muric - ‘keeper marking only the second time that Burnley had been victorious at Turf Moor.
It left the Clarets eight points from safety going into a trip to Chelsea, where a late headed from Dara O’Shea grabbed a point despite his side being down to ten men after Lorenz Assignon was sent off. Another point from a draw with Wolves made it four unbeaten heading to Goodison Park for a huge tie against fellow strugglers Everton.
A bizarre goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin following a mistake by Muric would prove to be decisive as Everton took the points, with a red card for O’Shea not helping Burnley’s chances of getting back into the game.
An unfortunate own goal from Muric in the following game left Burnley to settle for a point against Brighton, before a 4-1 thumping of Sheffield United and a 1-1 draw away against Manchester United moved Burnley to within two points of safety with four games left – one of which was against Nottingham Forest in 17th spot.
The first of three huge games saw Newcastle United arrive at Turf Moor but it proved to be a day to the forget as the visitors – still chasing a place in Europe for next season at the time – romped to a 4-1 victory. With Forest winning against Sheffield United on the same day, it meant the gap between the two at the bottom was increased to five points, with just six left on the table.
It meant Burnley simply had to win the penultimate game of the season to stand a chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship, and when Bruun Larsen fired his side in front at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the great escape remained on.
However, after Pedro Porro equalised before the break, Micky van de Ven then fired in the winner in the second half to consign Burnley to the drop, with the season then ending with a 2-1 loss at Forest the final day.
Burnley will now head into the new season looking to try and once again bounce straight back up to the top flight, but will do so under new management after Kompany’s departure to join German giants Bayern Munich.
Despite the difficult Premier League campaign, the Belgian departed Turf Moor with a win average of 43.75% from his 96 games in charge – the fifth highest of any permanent manager in the Club’s history.
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