Sean Dyche delighted with character shown by his side

Burnley went down 3-1 at Turf Moor after Scott Arfield lashed them into a 13th-minute lead, but the Blues recovered with three goals before half-time from Diego Costa, Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic.

The Clarets picked themselves up and remained competitive after the break, however, with Arfield close to a second, only to be foiled by a superb save from Thibaut Courtois, and Dyche said: “Overall I’m pleased, there has to be a reality to what we’re looking to achieve this season.

“I think they are top of the market, or certainly up there, so overall I felt we kept going, which was important - that mentality is going to be very important over the season.

“The will and demand was there. They have so much quality in all areas and can hurt you in any way.

“They’re powerful, physical, they can play, they have great awareness, great movement and they were put together for about £350m or whatever!

“There are clear signs of why!”

Dyche was disappointed with the first and third goals, although he admitted there was little anyone could have done about a quite brilliant second: “You can’t switch off for a second. We’ve spoken about it. The third was a set piece and we’re disappointed in that, it was a soft one.

“The second, as you suggest, you have to hold your hands up - there are some players with fantastic quality and Cesc Fabregas is certainly one of them.”