YES! YES!! YES!!!!!!!!
The Result:
Burnley 3, Brentford 1
How It Happened:
Just a great, great day. Chris Wood scored early. Matthew Lowton scored a bit later. Maxwel Cornet scored just a bit after that. There was another Wood goal disallowed by VAR. Nick Pope made a great save when it was still 1-0 to keep it 1-0 (Pope had another few saves on the day).
What It Means:
Burnley’s at least temporarily out of the bottom three, passing Leeds on goal difference with Leeds yet to play Norwich today. Even if Leeds wins, Burnley will be just three points shy of exiting the relegation zone, while also sitting three points shy of the point-per-match pace that’s been good enough to avoid relegation in recent years. FiveThirtyEight, which had the Clarets 42% likely to be relegated entering the match, now has them down to 33% likely.
What’s Next:
Tough one next weekend, playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before another international break.
Other News:
Cornet started on the front line with Wood, which I believe was new. In the world of the partner clubs, Ayr lost to Raith and Portadown lost to Coleraine.
Thoughts:
Realistically, the earliest Burnley can probably get to that point-per-match pace is the middle of December, with a reasonable goal probably to finish the calendar year more than a game clear of the relegation zone (worth noting that while the lads are three points behind Watford and possibly Leeds, they’re at most just nine points short of the top half of the table—real lumped together between fourth and sixteenth entering today).
Also…whew. Nice to get that first win. Three points is so many points, guys. So many points for the Burnleys.
