There were four goals inside a frantic opening half-hour at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea and Bournemouth played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side with just one Premier League win in seven matches. For the visitors, the result extended their own winless league run to ten games, Softfootball reports.
Bournemouth arrived in west London having collected just three away points since August, but they made a dream start by going ahead inside six minutes. A long throw caused chaos in the Chelsea box and, after David Brooks’ initial header was parried by Robert Sánchez, the Welshman reacted quickest to force the rebound over the line.
The lead didn’t last long. Chelsea were level on 15 minutes after Estêvão went down under pressure from Antoine Semenyo, with VAR stepping in to award a penalty. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrović guessed correctly, but Cole Palmer’s spot-kick was placed too well to keep out.
The game continued at a breathless pace. Sánchez produced a strong hand to deny Brooks a second goal before Chelsea turned the game on its head midway through the half. Enzo Fernández exchanged passes with Alejandro Garnacho, wriggled past two challenges and smashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
Yet, as was the theme of the night, no lead felt safe. Bournemouth struck back almost immediately when sustained pressure forced Trevor Chalobah into an unfortunate touch that fell kindly for Justin Kluivert, who tapped home to make it 2-2 and complete a remarkable opening 27 minutes. Liam Delap, Álex Jiménez and Semenyo all threatened before the interval, but the score remained level at the break.
The second half was far calmer by comparison. Neither side managed a shot on target until the 64th minute, when Petrović tipped an Estêvão effort around the post. The Brazilian teenager remained Chelsea’s brightest spark, later carving open the defence and cutting the ball back for Delap, whose effort took a deflection and went out.
Chelsea pushed for a winner, but Fernández failed to find the target when a loose ball fell his way in the box late on. Bournemouth dug in to claim a point and, crucially, avoided conceding three goals for the seventh successive away match.
After the game, Bournemouth via its official X handle shared the match result stating alongside that they earned a point on the road, see the image below:
The draw mirrored the reverse fixture earlier in the season, which also ended 0-0, and does little to ease Chelsea’s frustrations after they came into this game off a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa. Maresca’s side have now dropped 13 points from winning positions this season, while Bournemouth will take encouragement from another hard-earned result on the road.
