Burnley restored their three-point lead as they produced one of the comprehensive football results of the weekend in the Championship. At Loftus Road, they jumped on the board with a magnificent Johann Berg Gudmundsson free-kick before Ian Maatsen and Nathan Tella scored to secure the victory. After the Blades won on Saturday to cut the gap on the Clarets, it took them to pull ahead of Sheffield United once more. In their first game following the firing of head coach Michael Beale, QPR had a dismal afternoon and suffered their fourth straight loss.
On minute 19, Gudmundsson stepped up to launch an unstoppable curling attempt past Seny Dieng and over the wall, giving Burnley the lead. Dieng could only parry Vitinho’s 25-yard shot into Maatsen’s path, who drove it back with purpose past the hapless QPR goalkeeper just before halftime to make it 2-0. Albert Adomah and Olamide Shodipo were introduced at halftime by QPR B Team manager Paul Hall, who took over after Beale left. However, this move did little to change the momentum.
After 71 minutes, they capitalized on a Jimmy Dunne miscue to score three goals. With an attempted chested backpass, the former Burnley defender dreadfully undersold Dieng, allowing Tella to slip in and round the goalie before scoring from the narrowest of angles. On the surface, it appeared that Burnley had won easily, but there was considerable debate surrounding certain early choices that changed how the game turned out. George Thomas was unfortunate not to receive a penalty for QPR after being taken down in the box by Arijanet Muric after just 19 seconds. In addition, it was debatable whether Gudmundsson’s free kick ought to have been given at all.
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