Burnley 0 Albion 2: Mats makes the difference

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Dutch defender scores twice as Albion claim a fifth win out of six in the Premier League.

Bruce Talbot

2026-04-11T17:00+01:00

Delight for Mats Wieffer and Danny Welbeck after the Dutchman put Albion in front. 📷James Boardman

Albion’s push for European football gathered more momentum after Mats Wieffer’s double secured a fifth Premier League win in six.

A dominant first-half performance should have brought more reward than Wieffer’s second goal of his Albion career three minutes before the break.

Bart Verbruggen made one crucial save in the second half but an organised Albion largely kept Burnley at arm’s length and Wieffer produced another calm finish in the 90th minute to seal a deserved win that means Albion are now only three points shy of sixth place with six games to go in ninth place.

Mats Wieffer scores his first goal of the season to put Albion ahead. 📷James Boardman

Two changes saw Olivier Boscagli replace Lewis Dunk, who started a two-match ban, and Yasin Ayari coming in from James Milner who was absent with a minor injury issue. It was the Swede’s first start since 31 January.

Danny Welbeck had a great early chance to add to his 13 goals this season. Yankuba Minteh sped past Bashir Humphreys with ease down the left and his far post cross was met by Welbeck but he didn’t get great contact from a tight angle and Martin Dubravka saved comfortably.

Jaidon Anthony was marginally offside when he beat Verbruggen in the sixth minute for a Burnley side without a home win in the league since October, but apart from that scare and Lesley Ugochukwu’s effort which he sliced wide in stoppage time Albion dominated the first half.

Yankuba Minteh in full flight during the first half at a wet and windy Turf Moor. 📷James Boardman

Minteh was at the heart of their best moments. A couple of crosses from the left were begging to be finished off and he was frustrated again when Jack Hinshelwood teed him up four yards out but he completely miskicked with the goal gaping.

Albion were getting into so many good positions and all that was missing was an end product. It finally came two minutes before the break. Minteh found Gross in space on the left and he spotted that Wieffer had drifted in from the right and was unmarked ten yards out. The Dutchman’s right-foot finish for his first goal since December 2024 gave Dubravka no chance.

Albion went close again before the break when Diego Gomez headed another fine ball from Gross cross back towards goal but neither Welbeck nor Hinshelwood could apply the final touch.

Pascal Gross challenges Lesley Ugochukwu. 📷James Boardman

Burnley had the elements behind them in the second half and had a second goal disallowed when Humphreys lashed the loose ball into the net after Bart Verbruggen parried James Ward Prowse’s free-kick into his path but was offside by a few millimetres. It was a warning for Albion that their advantage was slender.

Verbruggen kept the lead intact on the hour with a brilliant save with his right-foot to deny Zian Flemming but Albion were threatening again and Gomez lashed a left-foot shot wide and Dubravka stretched to push away a Hinshelwood effort heading for the bottom corner.

Diego Gomez threatens in the first half. 📷James Boardman

The second goal Albion deserved came in the last minute of normal time. Substitute Kaoru Mitoma got to a loose ball ahead of Ward Prowse and it fell nicely for Wieffer to calmly side-foot it past Dubravka into the corner.

All that was left was for 1532 Albion fans to serenade the players at the final whistle and sing about another European tour. They may well be right.

Albion: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Ayari, Gross, Minteh (Mitoma 80), Gomez (Veltman 88), Hinshelwood (Baleba 74), Welbeck (Rutter 74).