Scott Parker’s Burnley spell got off to a dream start with a statement win against Luton Town in their first game of the season.

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Goals from Josh Brownhill, Wilson Odobert, Dara O’Shea and Vitinho earned the Clarets a one-sided victory at Kenilworth Road against a side that dropped down from the Premier League alongside them.

Two of the four goals came during the first-half, where Parker’s men exposed Luton’s frailties to simple balls in behind. Brownhill and Odobert took full advantage by finishing smartly.

Luton pulled a goal back at the start of the second half through Tahith Chong to set up a potentially nervous finish. But those nerves were soon put to bed thanks to two quickfire goals from O’Shea and Vitinho - much to the delight of the travelling Clarets faithful, who were making the most of a dream night against a potential promotion rival.

Parker dropped a major surprise before kick-off with his first Burnley team selection by naming Wout Weghorst on the bench.

The Dutchman, strongly linked with a move away this summer, hadn’t previously made an appearance for the Clarets since May 2022.

Elsewhere, Parker named James Trafford in goal as new signing Vaclav Hladky got the nod over Etienne Green on the bench.

LUTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Dara O'Shea of Burnley scores their third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Burnley FC at Kenilworth Road on August 12, 2024 in Luton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

placeholder image — LUTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Dara O'Shea of Burnley scores their third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Burnley FC at Kenilworth Road on August 12, 2024 in Luton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The new Clarets boss handed out a debut to Lucas Pires, while Vitinho also started - although not at right-back with Connor Roberts also starting.

Sander Berge, who didn’t feature in pre-season, wasn’t involved alongside the likes of Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Sander Berge, Aaron Ramsey, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Nathan Redmond, Mike Tresor, Zeki Amdouni and Michael Obafemi.

Summer signing Andreas Hountondji was named on the bench, but fellow new arrival Shurandy Sambo wasn’t named in the squad.

There were just five survivors in Burnley’s starting XI that started the game against Nottingham Forest on the final day of last season - Dara O’Shea, Maxime Esteve, Josh Cullen, Wilson Odobert and Lyle Foster.

The opening exchanges were played at an impressive intensity given the scoring heat, with the hosts appearing to have the upper hand during the opening exchanges.

But that all changed as early as the sixth minute when debutant Pires played Josh Brownhill through with a beautifully simple through ball. Brownhill took a touch to settle himself before coolly slotting the ball through Thomas Kaminski’s legs on his weaker left foot - much to the delight of the 1,300 travelling Clarets.

Those celebrations were almost cut short just two minutes later though as Elijah Adebayo robbed Wilson Odobert of the ball in a dangerous area, before letting fly from outside the area only to curl straight at Trafford - who took some flak from the home supporters for THAT controversial goal at Turf Moor last season.

Luton built up some pressure as they hunted for an equaliser but by and large, Burnley dealt with it fairly well - although they needed to take better care of the ball, as they were guilty of too many poor touches and passes going astray.

The Clarets, meanwhile, continued to look a threat on the counter, with Vitinho being set free down the right before pulling the ball back to Brownhill - who was denied by a Luton defender just as he was about to let fly.

Luton’s defenders were left in their trail a few minutes later though when Burnley doubled their lead, with an almost carbon copy of their first.

This time it was down the other flank as Connor Roberts picked out the run of Wilson Odobert with a clever ball in behind the Luton backline. Odobert did the rest by calmly slotting past Kaminski to silence the home faithful.

The Clarets knew they would have to withstand a barrage of pressure at the start of the second-half and that’s exactly what arrived, with balls delivered into the Burnley box from all angles.

Adebayo beat the flailing Trafford to a hanging cross to head towards goal but thankfully the striker’s looping header rebounded off the top of the crossbar.

The visitors hit back with a good chance of their own as Luca Koleosho picked out Odobert following a direct run through the middle of the pitch, but Odobert’s low, driven effort was well blocked.

Dara O’Shea of all people nearly added Burnley’s third, which would have put the game to bed, only to see his powerful shot well saved by Kaminski after Odobert’s effort deflected into his path.

Parker’s men kept up the pressure, with Pires coming inches away from adding a goal to his debut assist when he was denied by the post following a clever free-kick routine.

Burnley were made to pay for their misses though as just a minute later Luton would reduce the arrears.

It was a typical Luton goal in some ways, with Burnley failing to deal with a deep cross that Alfie Doughty headed into a dangerous area, where Tahith Chong was there to steer home from close range.

This was now a huge test of Burnley’s resolve having come so close to making it three just before Luton halved the deficit.

After weathering the storm after Luton’s goal back, Burnley continued to create chances. A second opportunity fell for debutant Pires who looked to toe-poke an effort into the far corner, but Kaminski did well to get down and claim.

Anass Zaroury, meanwhile, replaced Luca Koleosho who was forced off after complaining of cramp for a second time - having played his first action since suffering a serious knee injury in December.

It was patently obvious Burnley needed a third to extend their advantage to two goals again to avoid a nervy late barrage of pressure. Thankfully that’s exactly what happened 17 minutes from time.

O’Shea was the man to get the goal with a lovely glanced header from a Pires cross, as the left-back bagged his second of the night.

The Irishman’s header flew straight past Kaminski right in front of the away end, sparking great celebrations with the Clarets faithful.

Three almost immediately turned into four after Vitinho let fly on his left foot after cutting in from the right. Despite Kaminski being rooted to the spot, the Brazilian’s effort flew just inches wide.

A fourth did eventually arrive though and on this occasion Vitinho made no mistake, smashing home a bullet of an effort in off the post. The goal, though, owed everything to Lyle Foster, who turned on the edge of his own box before running almost the whole length of the field to slip in Vitinho.

There were serial limbs in the away end as the ball rocketed into the roof of the net off the woodwork, with even Trafford sprinting to join in.

The Clarets managed the remaining minutes well, introducing Han-Noah Massengo and Luke McNally off the bench as well as handing a first Burnley appearance in over two years for Weghorst.

The cherry on the cake almost arrived in stoppage-time when Massengo almost added his name to the scoresheet, but the midfielder was denied from close range meaning Burnley had to settle for four.

All that was left was for Parker and his troops to celebrate wildly in front of the away end as the Clarets marked the ideal start to the 2024/25 season.