Burnley's match at home to Everton on Boxing Day became the latest Premier League fixture to be postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak.
Covid-19 cases and injuries within the Everton camp forced the Merseysiders to request a postponement on Thursday. The initial plea was rejected despite Everton manager Rafael Benitez saying he only had nine fit outfield players.
Everton, however, said on Friday that the game had been called off, with a club statement saying: "Our Premier League fixture at Burnley on Boxing Day has been postponed due to the number of Covid cases and injuries in our squad."
It is the 13th Premier League game to be affected by the virus in two weeks and third Boxing Day fixture to be postponed after Liverpool v Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford were called off.
The Premier League added it had taken the "regrettable" decision to postpone the game following a board meeting.
"The board reviewed the club's request today to postpone the match following further injuries to their squad.
"They concluded that the club will not be able to fulfil their fixture this weekend as a result of an insufficient number of players available to play due to Covid-19 cases and injuries."
Chelsea v Everton ratings
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy – 6 A quiet first half, though he did claim Gordon’s shot before the break. Was unable to keep a clean sheet when Branthwaite poked in a set piece. Getty -
Reece James – 8 The 22-year-old came close to netting his sixth of the season when Jorginho’s ball put him through on goal, but he was unable to find the target. He later forced Pickford into a comfortable save from a free-kick, before slipping a great ball to play in Mount for Chelsea’s opener. Getty -
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6 A quiet night at the back, he ventured forward and raced onto a loose ball in the box but couldn’t keep his effort low enough to avoid blazing it into the crowd. AP -
Thiago Silva – 7 The 37-year-old dominated and controlled everything in the first half, with an incredible 82 passes by half-time. Forced a great save from Pickford from a corner. Reuters -
Antonio Rudiger – 7 Calm in defence, he slipped through some great balls to open Everton and keep Chelsea on the front foot. Forced Pickford to make back-to-back saves as he looked for Chelsea’s second. Reuters -
Marcos Alonso – 6 Continued his run in the side with Chilwell out for the foreseeable future, and though he was quiet for much of the game he could have added an assist after finding Mount in the box. Getty -
Jorginho – 7 Provided a delightful ball to James in the opening exchanges and could have later scored himself with a rebounded shot from a free-kick. Booked. EPA -
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6 Unconvincing performance. Lost the ball and got himself booked after committing a foul while chasing Doucoure to stop an Everton attack. Headed over a corner just after the break. EPA -
Mason Mount – 8 A menace who kept Pickford busy all evening. The in-form midfielder saw one shot go narrowly wide in the early stages, before forcing the Everton keeper into another save at the half-hour mark. Made no mistake in the second half, however, scoring in his fourth consecutive match. EPA -
Hakim Ziyech – 7 Returned to the starting line-up and was extremely lively. He had an opportunity to score from a tight angle but his effort went wide, before a neat one-two with Pulisic ended in the Moroccan going narrowly wide. EPA -
Christian Pulisic – 7 With Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner testing positive for Covid-19, Pulisic looked unnerved by the pressure of leading the line. He could have netted his third goal of the season early on but his backheel couldn’t trouble Pickford in goal. Lively at the top with his pressing. AP -
SUBS: Ross Barkley (Loftus-Cheek 64’) – N/R A mixed reception as he made an appearance against his former side. EPA -
Saul Niguez (Alonso 64’) – N/R Wasteful with a cross back into the box as Chelsea looked for a winning goal. Getty -
Trevoh Chalobah (Azpilicueta 79’) – N/R Good work to distract Dobbin whose shot just rolled into Mendy’s hands. Solid shielding the ball from Gordon. Getty -
EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford – 9 Produced a big save to deny James, while punching away Ziyech’s effort and claiming Pulisic’s backheel flick. Got low for another Mount effort at goal, before another great block with his feet denied his fellow England teammate. Forced into back-to-back saves as both Silva and Rudiger threatened with headers from corners. EPA -
Jonjoe Kenny – 6 Made his first Premier League start of the season in a back five for the Toffees and couldn’t get the better of Ziyech on the flank. Reuters -
Michael Keane – 7 The senior head in a young backline quietly got on with his job. He did extremely well to hold off Pulisic and retain possession after the Chelsea man had trapped him into a corner. AP -
Mason Holgate – 6 The 25-year-old made his 100th Premier League appearance and was booked early on for a tackle on Ziyech. Massive interception in the 25th minute as Pulisic looked to tap in a low cross in front of goal. Another good block after half-time to stop Ziyech. Reuters -
Jarrad Branthwaite – 7 Made his first Premier League appearance since July 2020 and looked confident despite the opposition, dispossessing Mount in the process. Poked in Gordon’s free-kick to toe-poke an equaliser for Everton. Getty -
Ben Godfrey – 6 Continued at left-back with Rafa Benitez low on options but got forward well during Everton attacks. Was unable to contain Mount on that wing for large parts. AP -
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 6 Wasted an opportunity in a rare moment of attack for Everton, which saw the Toffees dispossessed and Chelsea score on the counter. Getty -
Andre Gomes – 6 The 28-year-old had a shot blocked early on as the Toffees hoped to put Chelsea on the backfoot in a rare Everton attack. Booked. Getty -
Alex Iwobi – 6 Didn’t see a lot of the ball in the first half but did well closing down and pressuring Chelsea, albeit the Blues were largely unaffected. Perhaps needed better decision-making, especially as Everton broke on the counter. Reuters -
Ellis Simms – 6 Made his Premier League debut for the club with Benitez unable to name a full-strength squad, but was largely chasing loose ends and countered by the experience of Rudiger and Silva. Getty -
Anthony Gordon – 8 Lively and a crucial part in any attacking effort by Everton. Supplied the free-kick for the equaliser. EPA -
SUBS: ALewis Dobbin (Simms 61’) – 6, Provided some respite for Simms. Had to hold up play and did well to slow down the game. Booked. EPA -
Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Gomes 71’) – N/R, A very quiet cameo from the bench. EPA -
Tyler Onyango (Gordon 90’) – N/R, The 18-year-old made a cameo from the bench as Everton looked to close out the draw. Reuters
Earlier this week, the Premier League rejected the option of temporarily halting the season to allow a circuit breaker for infections.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte said Thursday's meeting between the Premier League and all 20 top-flight bosses as a waste of time.
Conte said: "If I have to be honest, it was a meeting that we tried to speak and some coaches tried to speak, to ask about solutions but I think everything was decided.
"I think yesterday it was a wall and for this reason I also prefer to not go into it."
Asked if it was a waste of time, the Italian added: "I think so. Because when you have a wall in front of you, you can speak and ask what you want but every decision was [already] taken."
Spurs, who have just returned from a two-week break due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the club, are scheduled to host Crystal Palace on Sunday before they visit Southampton on Tuesday.
