Capitulation and deflation: Old habits rear ugly head as Burnley's survival hopes take major hit against Newcastle United

Following an impressive run which had seen Burnley lose just one of their last eight games, there was a feeling, or a hope at least, that Vincent Kompany’s men were finally acclimatising to the Premier League.

After a string of competitive displays against sides in the top half of the table, none more so than at Old Trafford last week, this felt like the defining moment for Burnley to finally claim a win, having not done so against any team in the top 11 all season long.

Whether those recent improvements arrived in time to stave off relegation was another matter entirely, but at least Burnley fans could feel some encouragement at what they were witnessing.

But all of that renewed positivity disappeared within the space of 90 dreary minutes, as the Clarets returned to their bad old ways.

Deflation

Bad old ways, what does that mean exactly? In short, Burnley start a game well, fail to capitalise and then utterly crumble after going a goal down. It’s been rinse and repeat for the majority of the season.

It was certainly the case during the first third or first half of the season, especially at home where Vincent Kompany’s men felt so susceptible at Turf Moor.

But to return now, with Premier League survival on the line during the decisive final throes of the campaign, came at precisely the wrong time.

As the goals went in, one after another, you could sense the hope being drained out of the Burnley fans. It felt utterly deflating, as if someone had popped Burnley’s balloon right in front of our very eyes. That hope that they had worked so hard to foster was gone in the blink of an eye.

Losing to Newcastle, a top, top side, is no disgrace. But to do it in this manner, at home, with so much riding on the game, feels decisive.

While the mathematics might say otherwise, it’s hard to see a way back for Burnley from here. They have to go to Tottenham next week and win, it’s as simple as that. But even that might not be enough.

And who knows, Burnley’s fate might even be decided this week without a ball being kicked, with Nottingham Forest set to discover if they will get any points back after appealing their four-point deduction.

Either way, the Clarets are left needing snookers.

Capitulation

Reflecting back on Saturday, we thought Burnley had grown out of these displays. Oh, how naive we were.

The Clarets, as they so often do, started really brightly, coming firing out of the blocks with the crowd right behind them. Momentum was on their side.

Jacob Bruun Larsen was thwarted by Martin Dubravka, before the same man fired an effort wide. Lorenz Assignon was then denied a penalty after being pushed to the ground by Bruno Guimaraes. There were two clear hands on Assignon’s back, but it would have been a soft one had it been given.

Even if you disagree, the decision felt pretty immaterial come full-time. What transpired from 15 minutes onwards was as one-sided as you can get.

Newcastle offered very little during those opening exchanges but it didn’t take much to open Burnley up. They ended up tearing through the Clarets at will.

For the first, Jacob Murphy was left in acres of space down their right, an avenue of consistent success for the visitors. His cross reached Alexander Isak whose close-range effort was well saved by Arijanet Muric ( who was one of a very select band of Burnley players to emerge with any credit) but nevertheless Callum Wilson was there to tap home on the rebound – scoring against the Clarets for the sixth time in as many games.

I won’t bore you to death with a description of all four goals, but depressingly they became increasingly easier to score. Burnley’s ‘defending’ was non-existent.

Kompany’s men fell into the same trap again and again, dawdling on the ball against a side well-known for pressing with aggression and intensity. The Clarets simply had no answer for it.

It could have been a lot worse for the hosts. Isak saw his penalty saved by Muric at the start of the second-half after Josh Brownhill had needlessly fouled the lively Anthony Gordon inside the box.

No bother, Isak simply atoned for his miss a few minutes later after he had been left alone to lash home from close range following another Newcastle attack.

The Magpies ended the game with 23 attempts on the Burnley goal and with an expected goals (xG) of 3.58 (to Bunley’s 1.08). You simply can’t give up that many opportunities to a side as good as Newcastle, otherwise you’ll get severely punished and so it proved.

Sitting (un)comfortably

By the time Isak added Newcastle’s fourth goal, Turf Moor had largely emptied. This included two giant reclining chairs, which had been randomly placed at the bottom of the Jimmy McIlroy Stand – presumably as part of some official partnership – which looked strikingly like Joey and Chandler’s two barca loungers in Friends.

When this episode hits the air, perhaps it will be called: The One Where All Hope Was Lost.

Who knows, the Clarets might surprise us all, beat an out-of-sorts and out-of-form Tottenham side, watch on as Chelsea beat Forest and take it down to a winner-takes-all final day showdown. Stranger things have happened.

But unlike Ross and Rachel rekindling their off-again and on-again relationship during the final episode, I’m not sure Burnley fans will be getting the happy ending they’ve all been craving.