14 September 2024
Bournemouth 0 Chelsea 1
It never rains, it pours when you are a Chelsea fan. During the international break all the talk was of problems in the ownership of the club and how they were looking to sell the West London outfit. A trip to the south coast to face Bournemouth was somewhat of a distraction for both the manager and players as they looked to get their season back on track.
The Cherries almost made the perfect start as they won the ball back in the middle of the park and burst forward. It was played to Tavernier who only had one thing on his mind. He struck a sublime shot from outside the box which had Sanchez beaten. Sadly for the hosts his effort came thundering back off the crossbar.
Andoni Iraola’s side were dominating the game in the early stages. Tavernier was giving Disasi a nightmare evening down the left. After beating the defender once again, he found Kluivert with his cross but Sanchez was there to beat the ball away. It seemed just a matter of time before Bournemouth broke the deadlock in this game.
Chelsea threatened for the first time when Palmer stepped over the ball on the halfway line. Madueke ran at The Cherries defence before slotting it into the path of Jackson. Just as he was about to shoot, Senesi came from nowhere to make a timely sliding tackle to deny him. It wouldn’t have counted though as the flag had gone up for offside.
The Chelsea striker had another chance before the interval but Travers made a good block with his legs. Jackson still has a long way to go in his evolution as an out and out striker, he still misses far more chances than he converts. From a Chelsea perspective, he is still the pick of a bad crop currently.
Bournemouth came forward once again as the ball was lifted forward to Evanilson. Sanchez came steaming out of his goal and the Brazilian scooped it over the keeper before being wiped out by the challenge. As the player remained on the floor, the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. It presented a huge chance to Andoni Iraola’s side.
The former Porto striker went from hero to zero as his penalty was saved by Sanchez at full-stretch. To the striker’s credit it was a good spot kick but the keeper had guessed the right way. The Cherries had deserved to lead this game but things just did not seem to be going their way at the Vitality Stadium. Chelsea were growing in confidence as a result.
At the interval Sancho was introduced to the game for the visitors. The winger is hoping to put his nightmare spell at Old Trafford behind him and kick-start his football career. At Borussia Dortmund he was a world-beater, but Erik ten Hag’s side have a knack of ruining football careers of late much like the West London outfit.
Kluivert waltzed through the Chelsea defence before getting a shot away. Sanchez got down well once again to make a one-handed save to turn his effort around the post. The former Brighton man was keeping Maresca’s side in this game. The more chances The Cherries spurned, you started to wonder whether they would pay the ultimate price.
Sancho almost turned creator moments later when he picked out Jackson in the box. He shifted the ball onto his right foot and tried to bend a shot into the top corner. With Travers beaten, his effort narrowly missed the upright. It was a warning for Iraola’s side that The Blues still had a sting in their tail. This game was still finely poised.
The game was end to end stuff akin to a basketball game by this stage. Semenyo broke clear down the right and picked out the late run of Christie perfectly. His left-footed shot from the middle of the box struck the outside of the post and went wide of the target. The Cherries’ fans were wondering what they had to do to score in this game.
As the game looked certain to end in a stalemate, Sancho began to cause more problems down the left wing. He spotted Nkunku on the edge of the box, who turned his marker and poked his shot into the far corner. It seemed harsh on Bournemouth but football at the top level is a game of fine margins and The Blues had provided the sucker-punch.
The hosts were not done and threw all they had at Chelsea in the final stages of the game. Unal found himself in some space outside the box and managed to get a shot away which seemed to be heading into the bottom corner. Sanchez got down well to save and protect the Londoners’ lead. He was proving to be a thorn in the side of The Cherries.
Maresca’s side held on for victory in a game they should possibly have lost. Grinding out results like this can be pivotal in changing your fortunes in the Premier League, Chelsea need to just find more consistency from this point onwards. Iraola will know on another day this would have ended in a comfortable victory for his side, in a game marred by a record fourteen bookings.
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