Talking Points: West Ham United 1 Burnley 0

Michail Antonio did what Danny Ings, Heung-Min Son, Patrick Bamford and Paul Pogba had done before him when providing the game's defining moment.

The 30-year-old, employed as a striker following the sale of Sebastian Haller, converted a Pablo Fornals cross in the ninth minute to wrap up the points for the hosts.Here are a few observations from the trip to the capital.

NO CELEBRATIONS

For Burnley to fall foul of the FA's new Covid protocols on goal celebrations, they'd have to be scoring goals!

The Clarets have scored just once in their last four games and have now failed to find the net in 10 of their 17 top flight fixtures this term.

Their nine-goal return is the joint-lowest in the PL, alongside Sheffield United, who welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Bramall Lane on Sunday.And that average means Sean Dyche's side is now on course to match the worst tally in Premier League history (20) - set by Derby County in 2008.

"First of all to celebrate you've got to score goals," said Burnley boss Sean Dyche, following a home defeat against Manchester United.

"We need to score some goals first before we start worrying about anything else."

The statistics are stacking up against Burnley, who never really came close to threatening Lukasz Fabianski's clean sheet.

Dwight McNeil's cross dropped down onto the bar and Ben Mee headed wide from Robbie Brady's delivery, but that was as good as it got.

The Clarets, who are the only side in the PL yet to take a point from a losing position this season, are lacking a killer instinct in the final third.

They seem starved of creativity. In terms of 'big chances created', Burnley have mustered 15, the fourth worst in the division.

And they've clocked up the third fewest shots on goal (157) so far, with just Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion worse off.

TIME TO CHANGE

You can't knock the record of Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes at any stage of their careers.When the duo are forged together - whether at Brighton or Burnley - the goals usually come.

They scored 26 times in 53 starts between them during the 2010/11 campaign at the Amex Stadium.Since the New Zealander's switch to Turf Moor from Leeds United in the summer of 2017, they've scored 65 league goals between them.

However, for whatever reason, it's just not clicking for Burnley's previously prolific pairing at the moment.

Wood has three goals in 21 appearances for Burnley this season while Barnes has found the net just once in his last 23 outings.

With the club's xG rating (0.86) one of the lowest in the division, now might be the time to switch things up, particularly with the FA Cup tie at Fulham on the horizon.

Jay Rodriguez is without a goal in 19 appearances, and Matej Vydra - who has three goals in cup competitions - has not found the net in 21 Premier League appearances, and has only two in 39, albeit predominantly off the bench.

But they've added a bit more vibrancy and verve to the Clarets during their cameos in 2021.

The Czech Republic international forced a late equaliser against MK Dons, to take the third round tie to extra-time and penalties, and he threatened an equaliser against United.

And Rodriguez's movement across the front has stretched defences and started to open up more doors for Burnley in the final third.

"You can work on the training ground, but often strikers will tell you, sometimes they find a goal, sometimes a lucky one, however it comes, and it just clicks again," said Dyche, post match.

"We want to speed that process up obviously, the idea of coaching is to try and speed that situation up.

"We know the four players can operate, we think there's a nice mix of how we can operate with two strikers, but none of them are quite there at the moment."

Dyche, as he so often does, has continued to show faith in the strikers that have given so much to the club in his time as manager.

But to persevere with a misfiring partnership would only send out the wrong message to those players waiting patiently in the wings.

BASIC ERRORS

When you're not scoring at one end, it's essential that you get the basics right at the other end of the pitch.

The Clarets have deservedly won plenty of plaudits for their defensive displays under Dyche in the Premier League.

A total of 61 clean sheets in just short of five-and-a-half seasons at this level tells you that they get it right more often than not.

There's a compactness to Burnley's back line that has brought so much success over the years.

Burnley's narrow base, and low block, generally forces the opposition to utilise the wide areas, or shoot from distance.

In those instances, the Clarets have shown an ability to defend their box and protect goalkeeper Nick Pope.

That, though, hasn't been the case since the turn of the new year.

James Tarkowski was pulled out wide when veteran striker Cameron Jerome headed MK Dons into the lead from Scott Fraser's cross earlier in the month.

The home side were then in disarray when Marcus Rashford picked out an unmarked Pogba from the right hand side last week.

And West Ham's winner at the weekend included a catalogue of errors from start to finish.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson wasn't able to apply any pressure on the ball when Pablo Fornals had the ball at his feet out wide.

Captain Ben Mee and Tarkowski, who had both picked out the threat of Antonio, didn't deal with the cross after failing to communicate.

And then Brady, as the covering left back, didn't do enough to get goal-side of United's goalscorer, despite getting tight to the forward.

In the end the 30-year-old ex Nottingham Forest man was left with a simple tap-in as he joined Paolo di Canio (47), Mark Noble (46) and Carlton Cole (41) on 40 Premier League goals.

DWIGHT MCNEIL

The Clarets have been crying out for some creativity in the winger's absence and his return could provide the cure for Burnley's impotence in front of goal.

The 21-year-old hasn't made a start for the Clarets since a 2-1 victory over Wolves at Turf Moor before Christmas.

And, with Charlie Taylor also missing a chunk of games since tweaking his hamstring, Dyche's side has been devoid of any ball-carriers.

McNeil showed exactly what he brings to the side when replacing Gudmundsson at the start of the second half at the London Stadium.

Vladimir Coufal couldn't live with the former Manchester United Academy star, who constantly drove at the Czech defender before digging out a cross at the byline.

The England Under 21 international, who clipped the crossbar with an awkward delivery, was Burnley's shining light and he could help his side rediscover their route to goal.

After returning from a groin injury against his former club last week, he said: “We are just missing that final key pass and that goal at the moment.

“It’s hard. We are getting as many people as we can into the box and trying to create chances but we are not scoring enough goals at the moment.

“You can see we haven’t got that little bit of confidence at the minute, but I think once we get the next couple of goals we will have that confidence back in the team and we’ll score more again.”

TOUGH RUN

Burnley have lost three of their last four games- scoring once - and their run doesn't get any easier.

After taking on Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night - the Clarets take on Chelsea and Manchester City after hosting Aston Villa.

With just four points separating them from the bottom three, Burnley will likely have to spring a surprise of Arsenal proportions to avoid a return to the relegation zone.