Bournemouth 1-3 ChelseaHome team scorersJoshua King 42
Away team scorersAdam Smith 17 o.g.
Eden Hazard 20
Marcos Alonso 68
Chelsea not only passed this test of their nerve but did so in a way that will seriously examine the strength of Tottenham Hotspur’s belief that Antonio Conte’s side could still slip up in the Premier League title race. Bournemouth were valiant opponents and ensured Chelsea were not entirely serene on the south coast, but ultimately the Londoners ran out as commanding victors.
Marcus Alonso crowned the win with an impeccable goal from a second-half free-kick after Joshua King had hinted at a comeback by Eddie Howe’s team, who had fallen behind to an own goal by Adam Smith and a ruthless strike by Eden Hazard.
Chelsea marched on to pitch with the sound of Tottenham’s heavy steps clanging in their ears, along, no doubt, with a warning from Conte not to be spooked. Any Chelsea player unnerved by Spurs’ pursuit might also have harboured concerns about Bournemouth’s home form, as Liverpool, Arsenal and even Spurs all endured scares at the Vitaly Stadium this season and none escaped with a win. What is more, Bournemouth were still fighting for their Premier League lives even if several other teams remained far more likely victims of relegation.
Still, a side of Chelsea’s pedigree were entitled to be confident of taking all that in their stride, especially as the return of Victor Moses from injury enabled Conte to deploy his favourite starting line-up. Not only is Moses solid defensively, but his forward thrusts are a valuable weapon, as he would soon prove. But not before Bournemouth began rattling the league leaders.
David Luiz was so flustered by a pinged cross from the right by Ryan Fraser in the second minute that he almost shanked it into the net, the Brazilian ending up grateful for the sharp reflexes of Thibaut Courtois, who batted the ball to safety.
Chelsea then set about trying to deflate their hosts by depriving them of the ball. But they were not doing much with it in terms of creativity, whereas when Bournemouth won it back they tore at their opponents with speed. N’Golo Kanté should have been booked in the fifth minute for sabotaging a counter-attack with a crafty foul, and Moses saw yellow two minutes later when, after stumbling, he grabbed the ball to prevent Charlie Daniels from running free down the left.
Moses then caught the eye for the right reasons. In the 10th minute he launched Chelsea’s first dangerous attack with a run and cross from the right. Alonso’s shot was blocked. No matter, Moses tried again in the 17th minute, collecting a long pass by David Luiz before cutting in from his wing to zip a low pass to Diego Costa, who spun past his marker and shot from 12 yards. It was a wonky attempt that threatened to embarrass the striker until it took a benevolent deflection off Smith and bobbled past the misdirected goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Luck like that works wonders against jitters.
Jack Wilshere presented Fraser with a chance to try for a swift equaliser but the winger miscued his shot from 20 yards. Then Chelsea swaggered farther ahead. This time flukiness was not a factor. Kanté dissected the home defence with an incisive pass from deep and Hazard dashed into the box, duped Boruc into going down and then sidestepped the keeper and slotted the ball into the net. The travelling fans celebrated like they had one hand on the title. You could almost hear the groans from north London.
There were louder groans from the home crowd in the 29th minute when Daniels raced behind Moses and crossed for Benik Afobe, whose shot from 12 yards beat Courtois but cannoned out off the post.
But Bournemouth are too strong-minded to lapse into fatalism. They continued working to turn things in their favour and were rewarded just before half-time, when Afobe fizzed a pass into King, whose shot from 20 yards took a nick off David Luiz and flew into the top corner. At the break Chelsea had food for thought to go with their half-time oranges.
They emerged for the second period in game-management mode, again intent on softening the home side’s bite by hogging the ball. But Bournemouth are tenacious and when they finally regained possession in the 50th minute they immediately tried to sink their teeth into Chelsea. A fast-flowing move finished with Fraser firing just wide from the edge of the area.
Costa should have restored Chelsea’s two-goal lead shortly after that when Bournemouth coughed up possession with uncharacteristic sloppiness. But the striker was equally at fault, failing to profit from six yards after Alonso teed him up for a tap-in.
That attack was, however, a sign that Chelsea were back in control. And this time they did not look like relinquishing it. From then on Bournemouth, and more broadly Tottenham, were allowed to do nothing more than scamper gamely after Conte’s side as they took command.
Chelsea started to make their dominance look effortless to the point of imperiousness. Alonso confirmed that impression in the 68th minute by curling a sumptuous free-kick over a six-man wall and into the top corner.
Guardian
