The opening 45 minutes had lacked incident or invention, with the Blues claiming just one shot on target at the break and grateful for the telepathic reading of the game of Thiago Silva, who cleared off the line.

Yet Reece James and Kai Havertz netted three between them within 10 minutes of the restart, the deadlock broken by the defender on his first start since late December. He weaved into a shooting position down the right and planted a perfect strike into the bottom corner, setting Thomas Tuchel’s side on the way.

Havertz’s quickfire brace then followed, the first a clever header at the back post to steer in an inswinging cross from Christian Pulisic and the second a more fortunate close-range finish from James’s low cross.

Pulisic then sealed the win with another Turf Moor goal, again punishing slack Burnley defending to finish from inside the six-yard box and make it a happy afternoon in Lancashire for the buoyant Blues.

The selection

As fitness concerns among the group eased, Thomas Tuchel was able to make seven changes from our midweek FA Cup victory over Luton Town. The unchanged quartet were Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Saul and Mason Mount.

James made his first start in almost 10 weeks at wing-back, with Saul deployed on the opposite flank, while Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva also returned to join Rudiger at the back.

Burnley bounce

Despite this being a meeting of third against third-bottom in the Premier League, the two sides’ recent league form had been strikingly similar, with Burnley beaten only twice in their past eight amid a much-improved run.

Chelsea had suffered the same number of losses in that sequence, although our myriad commitments in different competitions meant that run went back to before Christmas, while for the Clarets it stretched only to late January.

Nevertheless, Sean Dyche’s side started with purpose and confidence. Nick Pope was out to snatch a teasing right-sided cross from James after five minutes but it was the home side posing the early questions of our impressive defensive record from set-pieces, the second-best in the division coming into this weekend.

Thiago Silva was twice forced into early intervention, heading clear under pressure and then snuffing out the danger on the cover after Dwight McNeil skipped away from Chalobah down the inside-left channel. From the resulting corner, Rudiger won the aerial battle.

Silva the saviour

Our best chance of the opening stages came 15 minutes in when Mount and Saul combined neatly down the Blues left, the Spaniard delivering low into the six-yard box towards Havertz.

With two goals in his last four appearances, the forward darted smartly into space but the ball came just behind him, falling instead into the path of James, whose strike was blocked well by Charlie Taylor.

Moments later, Burnley came close to taking the lead when Aaron Lennon escaped in behind Saul and found Wout Weghorst in the middle. The January signing from Wolfsburg did well to hook the ball on target but Thiago Silva did even better, reading the danger ahead of time as ever and positioning himself on the goal-line to clear the effort.

Nathan Collins saw a header fly over the crossbar into the Blues fans stationed behind Edouard Mendy’s goal before Tuchel’s men started to take control with more possession in midfield. However, this did not result in any notable clear-cut opportunities, with Rudiger’s customary try from distance the only shot on target from the visitors in the first period despite dominating three-quarters of the possession.

Drifting by

Instead, it was Burnley making the most of their few but dangerous forward forays. McNeil had the best of the chances on the half-hour mark after Ashley Westwood had mis-hit a cross high into the Lancashire sky. Mendy, under pressure from Jay Rodriguez, could only make limited contact to the dropping ball but McNeil’s attempt was awry and too high.

For a long while, the first half drifted somewhat on a mild afternoon in the north-west but the Blues sparked into life a little with half-time looming as Jorginho struck from distance and saw Connor Roberts head behind for our first corner of the afternoon.

Another one soon followed in stoppage time but the sides were destined to head in with the deadlock preserved.

Back with a bang

If first-half proceedings had been a little drab, our start to the second was anything but as three goals within 10 minutes of the restart took the game beyond Burnley’s grasp. James kicked things off with his first Premier League goal since Halloween, his sixth of the season in all competitions.

Collecting the ball in that familiar right-sided position after watching the build-up move across field from the left, the 22-year-old advanced with trickery, twisting and feigning to deceive the retreating McNeil before planting a finish perfectly into the bottom far corner.

On his first start in over two months, there was a certain relish in his celebrations in front of the travelling fans and that away contingent were back in raptures five minutes later when Havertz doubled our lead.

Kai’s the limit for Havertz

Burnley’s renowned rearguard, with fewer goals conceded than Manchester United and West Ham heading into this weekend, seemingly deceived them in this burst of activity. Roberts was the latest guilty party, apparently unaware of Havertz’s presence at the back post as Pulisic cut back inside and put in an inswinging cross from the right.

The German watched the ball’s flight carefully and squeezed a perfect header in between Pope and the post to continue his fine form in front of goal, that taking him to eight club goals for the season and following his strike against the Clarets in the reverse fixture back in November.

Number nine quickly followed for our striker, this one in more fortuitous circumstances from a finishing point of view. The move to fashion the chance was smart and slick, Mount to Kante to James, who added an assist to his earlier goal by drilling the ball into Havertz. His finish was not quite as silky as the build-up, the ball striking his trailing foot and trickling over the line for 3-0.

Pulisic seals it

Few could have seen such a commanding lead being established at the midway point but clearly Tuchel’s half-time words had done the trick and Burnley’s resistance was fatally wounded.

Maxwel Cornet entered from the bench and put a dangerous ball into the six-yard box from the right soon after, though his team-mates were not on the same wavelength and Chalobah quickly sent the ball clear.

Chelsea had not hit four in a Premier League away game since a 4-1 win at Crystal Palace last April and Pulisic, who scored a brace that day in south London, was soon continuing his good run at Turf Moor with our final flourish.

Another precise and patient passing move preceded the decisive moment of penetration, this time Saul turning provider from the left and James Tarkowski inadvertently knocking the ball the way of Pulisic. Our American did the rest, prodding home from close range to match our biggest ever win at Turf Moor.

The latter stages were played out at a slower pace and with the soundtrack of a delighted Chelsea support in the background as Tuchel was able to introduce Mateo Kovacic, Timo Werner and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the latter continuing his week of new positions by playing at right wing-back.

Four goals and three points marked an impressive return to Premier League action for the Blues and sets us up nicely for more challenges on the road in the days ahead.

What’s next?

Our run of three consecutive outings in the Premier League continues on Thursday evening when we travel to Norwich City, before Newcastle United visit the Bridge on Sunday.

Chelsea (3-4-3) Mendy; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; James (Loftus-Cheek 71), Kante (Kovacic 71), Jorginho (c), Saul; Pulisic, Havertz, Mount (Werner 78)Unused subs Kepa, Christensen, Kenedy, Sarr, Ziyech, LukakuScorers James 48; Havertz 53, 55; Pulisic 69

Burnley (4-4-2) Pope; Roberts, Tarkowski (c), Collins, Taylor; Lennon, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil; Rodriguez (Cornet 64), Weghorst (Barnes 78)Unused subs Hennessey, Lowton, Bardsley, Long, Cork, Thomas, RichardsonBooked Barnes 84; Westwood 89

Referee Andre Marriner