Chelsea analysis: Burnley defeat proves Antonio Conte right as transfer market panic means champions will pay dearly

Chelsea side endured a miserable start to the defence of their Premier League title on Saturday, losing 3-2 at home to Burnley, with their new captain Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas sent off.

Cahill lunged clumsily at Steven Defour's shin after 14 minutes after losing the ball high up the pitch and referee Craig Pawson was prompt with a red card.

Sam Vokes capitalised on the numerical advantage and Chelsea's poor defending, scoring either side of a goal from team mate Stephen Ward, to send Burnley into the halftime break 3-0 up.

Antonio Conte's champions looked much livelier in the second half and newly-signed second-half substitute Alvaro Morata got one back in the 69th minute putting Burnley on the back foot.

Defender David Luiz found the net in the 87th minute despite Chelsea being reduced to nine for the last 10 minutes, but it was not enough.

Simon Johnson assesses the key talking points at Stamford Bridge...

Clubs were already aware how desperate Chelsea are to buy players, but their need is even greater now.

Chelsea still hope to make four more signings by the deadline, however the price is bound to go up.

The lack of strength in depth was clear to see by the young players named on the bench, including Kyle Scott, Fikayoko Tomori and even China's least favourite player, Kenedy.

With Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill sent off this afternoon, Conte will struggle to name a 17 man squad for the game against Spurs next week.

This was their first defeat on opening day since 1998 and will surely make the board look to finalise some transfers even more.

But knowing Chelsea's panic will give the selling clubs even more power and right to play hard ball than a few weeks ago. The Blues should have acted far sooner to get the squad Conte wanted.

Replacing veteran John Terry as Chelsea skipper was never going to be an easy task for whoever was handed the armband.

Terry is the greatest captain in Chelsea's history, but decided to leave in the summer to join Aston Villa.

Cahill, who led the side regularly last term due to Terry rarely being picked, was always expected to be the successor.

But there is far more responsibility on his shoulders now he is captain in his own right and perhaps that's what led to the centre half making such a rash challenge in the first half that got him sent off.

Chelsea had made a very slow start to proceedings and in a bid to get the team showing more of an attacking threat, he carried the ball forward.

Unfortunately he slightly lost control and lunged to keep possession as Steven Defour closed in and his challenge was reckless.

The home supporters were stunned and then furious when referee Craig Pawson reached for a straight red, yet the fact Cahill didn't protest too much spoke volumes.

Now the England international is set to be suspended for matches against Tottenham, Everton and Leicester, so he won't even be able to play a part in turning Chelsea's fortunes around.

Andreas Christensen has been gifted an opportunity to prove to Conte that he is capable of playing regularly in the first team.

The club have high hopes for the Denmark international, which is why they brought him back from a two-year loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

But just what Conte thinks of him is less certain - Christensen told Standard Sport last month that the Italian has said little to him about what his role is.

With Chelsea still monitoring Virgil van Dijk's situation at Southampton, there is a possibility that he will face competition from another centre half this season.

Still with Cahill suspended for the next three matches, Christensen has the possibility to impress.

He wasn't flustered this afternoon after coming on for Jeremie Boga and it was more experienced players at fault for Burnley's goals.

That is certainly what the supporters will demand after the Spain international scored on his official debut.

The quality of his run and header to lift some of the gloom in the second half showed why the club have paid an initial £58m to Real Madrid. He also set up the second.

It will lift some of the pressure off his shoulders too to get off the mark this early in his Chelsea career, particularly after complaining the the critics were already 'killing him' for his displays in pre-season.

Conversely Michy Batshuayi, who started up front with Morata on the bench, struggled throughout and the home crowd turned on him as things were going sour.

It perhaps took them too long to show the energy and passion required, but the manner of the second half display will give Conte some cause for optimism.

Against all the odds, nine men Chelsea almost rescued a point despite being three goals down by half-time.

There were boos at the final whistle, but they were purely reserved for referee Craig Pawson.

Remarkably, the Chelsea players were applauded off by the home crowd, which was a turnaround in itself.