Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth
Chelsea kicked off the restart to the Premier League with a convincing home win over Bournemouth.
It was a result that Graham Potter desperately needed following a run of five results without a win that had seen the Blues drop down to ninth place in the league.
Chelsea lined up with many players missing through injury or with an extended break following the World Cup. This left them with a depleted subs bench and gave an opportunity for Denis Zakaria to make his debut.
Wing play
Chelsea started off by using both wings to cut through Bournmouth's defence. But it was down the right-hand side that the combination of Reece James, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount that caused the Cherries the biggest worry.
It took only 16 minutes for Chelsea to open the scoring, with Kai Havertz sliding in an effort at the back post following Sterling's low cross.
Chelsea soon doubled their lead six minutes later with Havertz laying off the ball to Mount on the edge of the area who duly passed the ball into the bottom right corner.
A quick counterattack led to Christian Pulisic burying the ball in the net on the other end. The goal was ruled out due to Havertz colliding with a Bournemouth defender, Adam Smith.
The end of the first half couldn't come quick enough for Bournemouth as Chelsea had chance after chance to test the goalkeeper in additional time. Including a sequence of slick passes that led to Sterling having a shot which stung Mark Travers' hands.
Graham Potter will be pleased with the way the first half went. Chelsea were assured on the ball and whenever Bournemouth threatened to attack, it was consistently broken up by the Chelsea back four.
This strong performance by the defence saw Bournemouth have only one shot on goal with ex-Blue, Dominic Solanke taking a tame freekick at goal.
The only negative to this performance was the injury to James, who had struggled with injuries over the last three months, and which saw him miss out on representing England at the World Cup.
Live wire
Sterling proved to be a live wire with several runs and passes that cut through he Bournemouth midfield and led to a couple of chances on goal for Chelsea.
Whether it was Chelsea taking their foot off the pedal or Bournemouth receiving a talking to at half time. The Cherries came out with more energy and were able to pass the ball and threatened more than they did in the first half.
Ryan Christie had a solid effort at goal, but it was easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga who had a calm and relatively untroubled outing.
A period of three minutes saw Kalidou Koulibaly heading just wide and Mount also coming close to extending the lead.
Conor Gallagher and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came on in the 80th minute to give extra energy to the already depleted Chelsea ranks. Replacing Christian Pullisic who never fully got into the game after being clattered in the first half.
This was a game won in the first half with an impressive performance from Chelsea. While Bournemouth improved in the second half, having a few more efforts on goal – nothing truly tested Kepa.
It's a performance that Potter will want his side to replicate in the new year in their chase for a top four finish.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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