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EPL Enzo Fernandez celebrates his late goal against Burnley Carl Recine Despite none of their players scoring more than four times so far this season, Chelsea finished their game against Burnley on Saturday with the joint-most goals in the Premier League (23). Manchester City overtook them that evening and now have 24 after their 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United. Winger Pedro Neto, midfielder Enzo Fernandez, and Joao Pedro, who has often played as centre-forward rather than No 10 in Liam Delap’s absence, are Chelsea’s top scorers with four each. Neto and Joao Pedro are the only forwards with more than one league goal. Moises Caicedo has scored three, Trevoh Chalobah two, and six other players have one. Advertisement That is a marked contrast to City, the only team to have outscored Chelsea this season. Fourteen of their 24 efforts have come from Erling Haaland, eight other players have chipped in one, and they have benefited from two own goals. Chelsea are not unique in spreading the goals around — Arsenal’s 20 Premier League goals have also come from 11 players — but it is impressive for them to be the second-most productive team without a talismanic striker carrying most of the load. It is hard to know where Chelsea’s next goal will come from. That was the case at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon — Neto headed Chelsea in front in the first half, but, five minutes from time, nobody had stepped up to provide the goal that would kill off Burnley’s hopes. The person most likely to do so seemed to be the Brazil youngster Estevao, who was getting stripped and ready to come on — until a neat counter-attack led by substitute Marc Guiu saw Fernandez arrive late in the box to fire home. Guiu was one of three players to lead the line for Chelsea at Burnley. Delap started up front while Joao Pedro moved up to replace him when the former Ipswich Town striker came off in the 67th minute. Guiu directly took Joao Pedro’s place nine minutes later. None of them managed a shot on target, but it did not matter. Since a goalless draw with Crystal Palace on the first day of the season, Chelsea have scored in every game. That is mostly without last season’s top scorer, Cole Palmer, and their new striker, Delap. There is no real ‘main man’ or focal point, but that does not bother Maresca. “I said already since I joined the club that I prefer the five players at the front to score 10, 12 goals each of them, than to have a striker that scores 40 goals, ” Maresca said after the win at Burnley. “For sure, if you have a striker that scores 40 goals, you’re happy! Advertisement “But I like the winger scoring goals, I like the winger giving assists, like today Jamie (Gittens), Enzo right inside the box, Malo (Gusto) the other day right inside the box. So we work on some patterns to also create chances with the attacking player. ” It helps explain why Maresca is not worried by the fact that Delap, who joined for £30million ($39m at current exchange rates) this summer after scoring 12 Premier League goals for relegated Ipswich last term, has not yet netted in the competition for Chelsea. Injury has limited the 22-year-old to five league appearances so far, and a couple of poor touches and mis-hit efforts at Burnley showed he is still recovering his sharpness in the final third. But he also showed some of the target-man physicality that made him such a threat last campaign. “No doubt that the goal will arrive, ” Maresca said, “and the way he worked today was very important. Liam is also that kind of striker that, as a defender, you are always worried when he’s around you, so that’s also good for the team. ” The person Chelsea bet on the most when a goal is needed seems to be Estevao, as evidenced by the 18-year-old being readied to come on against Burnley when his side were struggling to extend their lead. He retook his seat after Fernandez scored. No Chelsea player can really be described as a reliable goalscorer at the moment — but their output is not suffering. “Route one” through the centre-forward is not bearing fruit, but they have found plenty of other paths. The breakdown of their goals below shows that they have been using set pieces well, while still creating a very healthy amount through open play. At Turf Moor, slowly built attacks had not paid off, and Burnley dealt well with their set pieces, but Guiu’s fresh legs to drive a counter-attack and Fernandez’s composure in the box meant they found another solution. The amount Chelsea rotate their squad, and the depth of their attacking options, lends itself to a wide pool of goalscorers. Maresca has the ability to refresh his entire forward line during a game. Chelsea’s attacking methods and tools are plentiful — when one is not working, another tends to step up, as happened against Burnley. Advertisement Having ‘go-to’ goalscorers is, of course, useful — but only if the side’s output does not drop when that star player drops off, whether through form or fitness. Palmer has been Chelsea’s talisman in the past and that they have fared so well in front of goal without the England international gives hope that his return can be managed carefully, with less pressure on him to carry the side’s attacking burden. It is rarely clear where Chelsea’s goals will come from, but still they keep coming. Additional contributor: Conor O’Neill Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Cerys is a London-based writer covering Chelsea for The Athletic, as well as other London clubs and women's football. She joined The Athletic in summer 2025. Follow Cerys on Twitter @reallycerys