The Cherries emerged victorious at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, clinching all 3 points with a late goal to upset the hosts.
The game started as expected with Chelsea seeing most of the ball and Bournemouth swatting attack after attack. Unfortunately for Lampard’s men, they didn’t create any big chance of note and went into the tunnel at 0-0.
The second half showcased a similar story but the visitors started growing in confidence creating the better chances on the counter-attack and came very close twice before Gosling cleverly chipped a wayward ball into the back of the net. The goal which was initially not given was overturned by VAR much to the delight of Eddie Howe and his team.
Chelsea continued their dismal form with four losses in their last five premier league encounters. Having recently drawn Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the champions league and a team low on confidence, Frank Lampard has his work cut out for him.
Lack of Service
Tammy Abraham started the game leading the blue army from the front with the usual trio of Mount, Pulisic and Willian behind him. But the usually dynamic trio looked rather lacklustre and were unable to trouble the opponent defence.
Chelsea’s no.9 put in a lot of effort and made a lot of runs but the lack of service from his midfield meant that he was not able to get too many shots away. The second half substitution of Hudson-Odoi added a bit of spark but wasn’t enough to make a difference on the scoreline.
Counter attacking Cherries
The visitors started off on the back foot as most would’ve expected but slowly grew in confidence as the game went on. Eddie Howe delivered a tactical master class and despite injuries to his main defenders like Ake, Cook and Smith, was able to get the three points.
Ryan Fraser looked like his old self, with his marauding runs and fast breaks on the counter. Josh King provided great support in the absence of injured Callum Wilson. The underdogs looked the more dangerous side in the second half with almost scoring twice before they finally went on to grab the winner.
Full back issues
Captain Azpilicueta started at his preferred right-back position with Emerson on the opposite flank. A fit-again Rudiger put in a good performance overall but wasn’t able to keep the clean sheet they much desired.
In the past few weeks, the left-back position has come under scrutiny for the home side with James playing as right-back and Azpilicueta filling in on the left. But, this doesn’t seem to be a permanent solution as Chelsea seem to be giving a lot of space to opponent wingers and conceding goals due to fast breaks and out of position defenders. With their transfer ban halved, it is no surprise that the talk of buying a left-back has been doing the rounds with the likes of Ben Chilwell leading the list.
A much-needed boost
With 5 defeats in a row, Eddie Howe will be extremely happy with the confidence and determination his side showed to come out on top. Given the number of injuries to first-team players made the feat even more impressive. They are slowly gaining a tag of Chelsea’s voodoo team having beaten them in recent season on their stomping ground.
The Bournemouth boss will be hoping this is the push his team needed to boost their morale and go on a run of games to improve their current 14th position on the table.
Up Next:
Bournemouth host Burnley on Saturday while Chelsea travel to Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday for a highly awaited derby against ex-boss Jose Mourinho.
