The Blues broke their long winless streak against the Cherries at the end of a challenging contest.
Chelsea overcame Bournemouth 3-1 on Saturday, earning their first win under interim coach Frank Lampard in the seventh attempt. Despite Conor Gallagher’s early opener, it was far from simple for the Blues, as Bournemouth was dominant from the start and leveled with a magnificent Matias Vina strike.
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The Cherries had opportunities to go ahead, while the Blues’ assault was led by Kai Havertz and Mykhailo Mudryk, albeit Noni Madueke was superb down the right side, as he had been against Arsenal.
Hakim Ziyech, Madueke’s substitute, also made an impression with a superb free-kick cross that set up Benoit Badiashile’s goal. Then, fellow replacements Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling combined to put the London club up 3-1 and secure their first win in ten games.
Defense & Goalkeeper
Kepa Arrizabalaga (6/10): Beaten from afar yet again, but a steady presence for the most part.
Trevoh Chalobah (4/10): Kept it simple with short passes but struggled higher up the field and was a liability defensively as Bournemouth frequently attacked his side. In the second half, Ryan Christie created a monument of him in the box.
Thiago Silva (5/10): Led the way far too early in the build-up to Bournemouth’s goal, giving a large gap behind him for Matias Vina to run into.
Benoit Badiashile (7/10): Comfortable on the ball with nice passes and boldly moved it forward on occasion. Late in the game, he scored a critical goal.
Ben Chilwell (5/10): Ben Chilwell was not at his best in this game, offering nothing in attack with several weak crosses, but he did find Sterling in the box with a low cross after a fine run in the build-up to the third goal.
N’Golo Kante (6/10) in midfield:
Sent a nicely weighted cross into the center of the box, where Gallagher headed home the opening.
Enzo Fernandez (5 out of 10):
Ineligible to play in the base of Chelsea’s midfield. He arrived too late to press, allowing the hosts to break through and score.
Conor Gallagher (7 out of 10):
Was in a good position to move ahead of his defender and tip the ball beyond Neto to give the Blues the lead. In the second half, he made a crucial block to maintain the score at 1-1.
Attack
Noni Madueke (7/10): The most energetic of the front three starts. He looked threatening throughout, but Bournemouth doubled up on him frequently, and he made some terrible decisions.
Kai Havertz (4/10): Dropped deep to assist in the development of certain attacks, but he had little influence on the game as the home defense kept him quiet.
Mykhailo Mudryk (5/10): A quiet and lackluster performance. He didn’t fire a single shot before being removed just after the hour mark.
Subs and the Manager
Raheem Sterling (7/10): Brought in to spice up the Chelsea attack, Sterling was a more direct danger than Mudryk, eventually setting up Joao Felix for his team’s third goal.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (6/10): Came on in the second half to replace Kante but was hardly the game-changer Chelsea required.
Cesar Azpilicueta (5/10): Came on in place of the injured Chilwell for the final 15 minutes.
Hakim Ziyech (7/10): Replaced Madueke, Chelsea’s finest player, and made a fantastic intervention, with his exquisite delivery finding Badiashile for the victory.
Joao Felix (7 out of 10):
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He came in late, when Chelsea was already ahead, and made the most of his appearance by scoring the third goal.
Frank Lampard (5/10): Finally secured his first win as temporary manager, although it might have been different. Except Madueke, the midfield was easily through and the offense was insipid. However, three of his second-half substitutions – Sterling, Ziyech, and Joao Felix – went on to turn things around and secure the win.
