The thought will be anathema to most football romantics, but Burnley’s hopes for the season may hinge on an honourable defeat. This particular reverse, against a Fulham side that could have scored twice as many, did not really fit the category; eyes at Turf Moor will now be on the two-goal deficit they must overturn against Olympiakos on Thursday, though, and on current evidence a prolonging of their Thursday-to-Sunday regimen would put them at risk of serious trouble. A relatively kind start to the campaign has now brought just one point and, not helped by the kind of defending that will set alarm bells ringing, they were outmanoeuvred here by opponents whose passing and movement, led by the marvellous Jean Michaël Seri, was simply on a different level.That fact will bring relief to Slavisa Jokanovic, who will feel confident of his team’s prospects after seeing goals from Seri – with a stunning strike – and André Schürrle sandwich two headers from Aleksandar Mitrovic. Replies from Jeff Hendrick and James Tarkowski presented complications but the home team rarely looked short of answers. Continue readingreadfullarticle
