Ashley Barnes scored a brace to help Burnley produce one of the most comprehensive football results of the weekend in the Championship. At Turf Moor, it took until the second half for Vincent Kompany’s team to score after a commanding first period. Ashley Barnes pounced to head in a gorgeous cross from Anass Zaroury in the six-yard box. Then, after Rovers were caught playing out from the back (73), Belgian U21 international Zaroury scored to punish them, and Barnes followed with a deflected goal to secure a crucial victory and significant local bragging rights.
Despite the significant stakes, the first derby in six years took some time to get going. Burnley controlled the ball, as has frequently happened this season, but their first effort on goal didn’t come until Manuel Benson’s strike in the 31st minute.
Despite the significant stakes, the first derby in six years took some time to get going. Burnley controlled the ball, as has frequently happened this season, but their first effort on goal didn’t come until Manuel Benson’s strike in the 31st minute. Even though Blackburn had won eight of the nine games in which they had less than 50% of the possession, they had only seen 20% at one stage in the first half and appeared to be in danger of being outmatched.
After the intermission, the game altered. Blackburn appeared to be flying out of the gates at first when Brereton Diaz forced an Aro Muric to save, but that ended up being their only shot throughout a mediocre 90 minutes. The hosts were then the ones who eventually made their superiority noticeable. After Barnes’ initial volley was blocked by Kaminski, the Belgian helped himself to one of his own before heading home a gorgeous cross from Zaroury. Additionally, Barnes finished off a fantastic day by scoring via a deflection in the final ten minutes after receiving a square ball from Josh Brownhill, turning Ryan Hedges inside out.
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