Michael Owen brands Liam Delap 'Selfish' after Chelsea’s win over Burnley

Former England striker Michael Owen has delivered a blunt assessment of Liam Delap’s performance after Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday, calling the young forward “selfish” during a crucial moment in the match.

Chelsea sealed the win with goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez, climbing to second place in the Premier League table. But despite the positive result, Owen singled out Delap’s decision-making as an area of growing concern.

Delap, a £30 million summer signing from Ipswich Town, started the match but failed to impress in front of goal and is still waiting to score for his new club. His afternoon ended when Malo Gusto replaced him in the 67th minute.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Owen described the 22-year-old’s display as inconsistent, “A mixed bag, I feel. I do think in this situation he needs to be a little bit more unselfish; he probably could have passed it a couple of times.”

Owen highlighted a specific first-half moment where Delap chose to shoot from long range instead of passing to Pedro Neto, who was in a better position.

Breaking down the play, Owen argued that Delap missed an obvious opportunity to create a high-quality scoring chance for Chelsea.

He said, “If he plays this ball in to Pedro Neto and makes a run to take the defender away, he leaves Neto with a one-on-one. I think he has to do that instead of being a bit selfish and thinking he’s going to score on his own.”

Owen criticised Delap’s long-range effort, calling it a poor choice for a striker still searching for confidence.