FULL TIME: Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea
And that’s that! Chelsea are the thoroughly deserved winners; the only wonder is how Bournemouth restricted them to one goal. Eden Hazard’s strike allows Chelsea to reclaim fourth place in the Premier League; Bournemouth remain a point and three goals below the relegation line in 19th place. Chelsea are grinding out results right now; the sign of a good team, all that. But they’re still pinging it around in a very pretty fashion. Next week, Jose Mourinho pays a return visit to Stamford Bridge. It promises to be a cracker.
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90 min +3: Bournemouth get a shot on target at last! And it nearly earns them a point. Surman and Ibe combine well down the middle, and suddenly the ball breaks to Steve Cook, just to the left of the D. He lashes a hard riser goalwards. Courtois is behind it all the way, snaffling and falling to the ground in relief.
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90 min +2: There will be four added minutes. We’ve already had two utterly uneventful ones.
90 min: A throw for Bournemouth, deep in Chelsea territory down the right. Steve Cook launches it long. Courtois bravely comes off his line, bursts through and over a forest of players, and claims with ease. What fine, confident, assertive goalkeeping. I wonder what he talks to Simon Mignolet about when they’re on international duty?
88 min: Francis is booked for a cynical check on Alonso as Chelsea attempt another break upfield. Both teams look a little nervous right now, for different reasons.
87 min: Francis swings a glorious deep cross in from the right. Zappacosta does extremely well to head the ball clear at the far post under pressure from Wilson. Chelsea zip upfield, Willian chasing after a long hoick. Begovic comes out of his box to head clear ... and heads it straight at Willian! But he does well to challenge the winger to the second bounce, and mop up his mess. What nonsense.
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86 min: Fabregas plays a delightful ball round the corner to set Zappacosta clear down the right. The flag goes up for offside. Zappacosta kicks the ball away to waste a little time, and gets away with it.
85 min: Hazard is replaced by Willian.
83 min: Bakayoko robs Daniels in the middle of the park. Alonso is sent scampering up the other end. He feeds Hazard down the left. Hazard in turn shuttles the ball on for Fabregas, who is near the byline but looks to curl the ball round Begovic and into the top right. That’s close, but high and wide. A real chance to seal the win spurned through an over-complicated approach.
82 min: Bournemouth still haven’t mustered a shot on target.
81 min: ... nothing occurs. It’s a total waste of time, Surman sending it straight over a crowded area and out for a goal kick.
80 min: Pugh and Daniels combine well down the left to earn a corner for Bournemouth. From which ...
79 min: A double change by Chelsea: Pedro and Morata off, Batshuayi and Drinkwater on.
77 min: Chelsea wrest back control with some studied possession in the middle of the field. The clock is their friend.
75 min: Wilson’s first contribution is to become involved in a three-man attack with Ibe and Pugh. The move ends with the superb Luiz blocking Wilson’s speculative shot. Chelsea hearts were in mouths for a second or two there. Chelsea have been totally dominant, but there’s just the one goal in it.
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73 min: Another muscle pull suffered by a Bournemouth player: this could be a costly evening for the Cherries going forward. Afobe is the victim this time. On comes Callum Wilson, to warm cheers from fans fully aware of his long journey back from ACL injuries. The world of football will be wishing him all the luck.
72 min: Adam Smith does very well to reach a long ball down the right wing, and hook it into the Chelsea box. Running from deep, Pugh meets it with his head on the edge of the area, but he can’t guide his effort anywhere near the goal.
70 min: Chelsea ping it around in the middle. Bournemouth are chasing shadows again. Conte’s tantrum appears to have done the trick, knocking the visitors back up a gear or two.
68 min: Pedro has a whack from 25 yards. Straight down Begovic’s throat.
67 min: Luiz looks to be in an awful lot of trouble, pinned in near his own corner flag on the left. But he one-twos with Rudiger, then threads a delightful ball up the wing for Pedro, who scampers into acres. Pedro’s ball further down the channel, intended to release Alonso into the box, is really poor, and Francis can slide the ball away from danger. That would have been a sensational goal, given Luiz’s stylish escape down the other end; a shame the move broke down.
66 min: More space for Ibe, a bit further out this time. This shot sails into orbit. But after going close a few minutes ago, you can’t fault him for having another pop.
64 min: Chelsea respond to their irate manager’s wishes. Hazard surveys the situation, then suddenly fires a pass down the inside-right channel for Pedro in the area. Pedro flicks it back inside for Hazard to run onto. Hazard gets there, but sends a shot sailing miles over the bar. Better from Chelsea, who had slowed down dramatically a couple of minutes after the goal.
62 min: Stanislas has pulled a muscle, and Pugh comes on in his stead. While the game is stopped, Conte takes the opportunity to come to the touchline and give his team a very expressive bollocking.
60 min: Some fine pressing by Bournemouth. Rudiger isn’t allowed to clear down the left. Alonso is stopped hoicking a clearance up the other wing. Eventually Courtois slices a panicked clearance out of play. Nothing comes of the resulting throw, deep in Chelsea territory, and Courtois claims. But this is a very impressive response to falling behind by Bournemouth, especially after rocking violently in the immediate wake of conceding.
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58 min: Ibe very nearly spins and turns past Rudiger down the right. The Chelsea defender does well to recover and hack out for a throw. Steve Cook launches long, but it’s easily cleared by Chelsea, who zip upfield. Hazard makes off up the left. Adam Smith slides in, and is booked for the clumsy foul that follows.
57 min: And suddenly a chance for Ibe! Luiz and Fabregas run into each other 35 yards from their own goal. The ball breaks to Stanislas, who rolls it forward to Ibe. The sub has space and time on the edge of the area, but his powerful rising drive is deflected over the bar for a corner. The set piece comes to nothing.
56 min: Bournemouth enjoy a little possession in the midfield. They go nowhere, but that’s not really the point; they desperately need a few seconds to catch their breath and regroup after conceding the opening goal.
54 min: Bakayoko balloons wildly from 25 yards. Chelsea are in the mood for more.
53 min: Pedro, Hazard and Zappacosta run very fast at the Bourmemouth back line. Danger is just about kept at arm’s length this time. But the hosts are rocking.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Hazard 51)
Morata wriggles away from three opponents in the centre circle. He wedges a pass down the inside left. Francis should hoick clear, but air kicks. Hazard scoots into the area and bashes a shot towards the near post. In it goes. Begovic should have done much better. Think Heighway v Wilson in the 1971 FA Cup final. Mistakes all round by the hosts.
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50 min: Morata and Hazard eat up the yards in the middle of the park. Hazard eventually rolls a pass down the left for Alonso, who is in acres. He fires a low cross through the box. Pedro wasn’t too far away from meeting that in the middle, but not quite.
48 min: Lewis Cook has a batter from the best part of 35 yards. Ambitious. It would have worked out well in rugby.
47 min: Chelsea are immediately on the front foot, Morata probing down the right. Then Fabregas tries to get something moving through the middle, but neither shoots nor passes. We were here early on in the first half with Fabregas. He looks as frustrated now as he did back then.
And we’re off again! “I admire your steadfast refusal to refer to Bournemouth’s home ground as anything other than Dean Court,” writes Mr Morris. “None of this Vitality Stadium nonsense from the Manchester Guardian.” Quite. Anyway, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic kick off, having made a change: Ibe on, Defoe off. Can he trouble the Pensioners?
Half-time news service: Just in case you haven’t heard, England have just won a World Cup. Not the World Cup, but this version’s surely enough to be getting on with.
HALF TIME: Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea
And right on the stroke of 45 minutes, the whistle goes. Chelsea have been utterly dominant, but the hosts have held firm - and on another day, might have even carved out a goal or two themselves. How it’s still 0-0 is anyone’s guess. It promises to be an entertaining second half. Go nowhere!
43 min: Pedro and Hazard combine down the inside-right channel, setting up Fabregas six yards out. Steve Cook and Begovic combine to block the resulting shot. Bournemouth have been staunch at the back, but they surely can’t keep on like this. Chelsea have been very lively in attack, without ever quite slipping into Scintillating Mode.
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41 min: More of the Chelsea tiki-taka. Ping, ping, ping. Eventually Hazard clips one in from the right, and Pedro attempts to flick a header onwards and into the top left. He doesn’t quite catch it. This 0-0 scoreline is quite a puzzle.
39 min: Bournemouth win a corner down the right, and work the set piece nicely, eventually finding Francis in space out on the same wing. Francis whips it into the box. Afobe rises with a view to banging a header goalwards, but he’s foiled by the top of the ever-excellent Azpilicueta’s head, which glances the cross away. Just for a split second there, after being under the cosh for so long, it looked as though the Cherries might snatch the lead.
38 min: Alonso, out on the left, smashes a strange howitzer of a cross through the Bournemouth box. Perhaps he was looking for a crazy could-go-anywhere deflection. He didn’t get one.
36 min: They’ve just showed a rerun of the disallowed Chelsea goal. Azpilicueta’s kneecap was offside as Luiz shot from the edge of the area, so the decision was technically correct. But in real time, it’s the sort of decision the attacking side might have expected to go their way. Yes, one of those.
34 min: Some gorgeous Chelsea triangles, and suddenly Hazard traps and turns 30 yards from goal. He gives the ball to Morata, who drops a shoulder and shifts his feet to send Francis the wrong direction. Space to shoot, just inside the box. Begovic somehow deflects his shot over the bar with a strong left arm. Corner = waste of time.
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32 min: Another purposeful run by Zappacosta down the right. He reaches the byline but can’t find anyone with his low cross. He’s popping up every couple of minutes down that wing, causing all manner of problems.
31 min: Hazard wheechs down the right wing and suddenly pulls one back for Zappacosta, who shoots from the edge of the box. His effort is deflected out for a corner kick, from which nothing comes.
30 min: Daniels crosses deep from the left wing, forcing a panicked Luiz into heading behind for a Bournemouth corner. The set piece is a load of nonsense. This is a nice open game; goodness knows how it’s still goalless.
28 min: Rudiger again looks for Zappacosta with a left-to-right diagonal ball. Ake eyebrows an interception out for a corner. The set piece is worked to Luiz on the edge of the area. Luiz blooters goalwards. Begovic can only parry, because Azpilicueta was in the road. Morata slams home the rebound. But the flag goes up for offside, Azpilicueta the culprit. That looked extremely tight; probably onside, and even if he was a smidgen off, it was so close you’d have thought the benefit of the doubt would go to the attacking team. But Bournemouth get away with one.
26 min: Zappacosta earns Chelsea a corner down the right. The set piece is flown long for Bakayoko, who aims a header towards the top left from ten yards, but gets no pace behind it. Begovic gently plucks from the sky.
24 min: Begovic shanks a dreadful clearance straight to Hazard, 25 yards out. Hazard slips the ball straight forward to Morata, who is inside the area and only has the hapless keeper to beat. But he pulls his first-time shot wide left of the post when it was surely easier to tuck it past Begovic and home. Cue some lyrical Spanish phrases, delivered with feeling.
23 min: Hazard is at the centre of a lot of crisp tiki-taka on the edge of the Bournemouth box. He can’t quite find a killer pass; he’s never quite in enough space to receive one. The move peters out.
21 min: Throw for Bournemouth deep in Chelsea territory down the left. Daniels shapes to Delap a long throw into the area ... and instead flings it short. Bad idea; the training-ground move peters out quietly. Unfashionable to say things like this, of course, but he might as well have stuck that in the mixer.
19 min: Chelsea go up the other end and nearly score. Fabregas probes, sending Pedro scampering into the area down the right. Pedro fizzes a cross to the near post, where Morata lurks. He can’t quite clip home, and the ball’s deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes from that set piece either. In a parallel universe, it’s 1-1.
18 min: So having said that, here’s Bournemouth haring forward en masse, Afobe picking up possession 30 yards from goal with Chelsea hectically backpedalling. He’s got options either side. Daniels is in acres to his left, and he finds him, but only with a terribly heavy pass that pushes his man miles wide of goal. He should be clear in the box and shooting, but all he can do is pull back from the byline. Afobe takes a snapshot that’s deflected out for a futile corner. What a waste.
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16 min: It’s not quite sparked into life yet, this match. Nearly, but not quite. Chelsea are in a patient mood, while Bournemouth are happy to sit back and soak up whatever’s thrown at them.
14 min: Rudiger, deep on the left, sprays a glorious diagonal pass towards Zappacosta, haring into the box from the right. He takes a touch and prepares to shoot from a tight angle. Ake comes across, sliding the ball out of play. A wonderful saving tackle, especially as he’s blocked the ball back onto Zappacosta before it goes behind. Goal kick.
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13 min: Bakayoko slips in the middle of the park, allowing Lewis Cook to make off upfield. Chelsea are light at the back, and Defoe is screaming for a pass down the inside-left channel he can skitter onto, but the ball’s not coming. Eventually Cook is stripped of possession.
12 min: Chelsea are beginning to dominate possession. That isn’t stopping the home support from making a hell of a racket, which they’re doing in a continuous and very rhythmical fashion.
10 min: Fabregas, sitting in front of the centre circle, slips a pass forward for Pedro, who glides in from the inside-right channel to the centre, where there’s space aplenty. He should really bomb as far forward as possible before shooting, but elects to blooter one goalwards from 25 yards. It flies hysterically over the crossbar. He should have at least troubled Begovic, so much space did he have to play with.
8 min: Luiz rakes a long pass down the right, and Pedro finds himself in more space. Another cross, and this one’s headed clear easily enough by Steve Cook. But Chelsea are quickly coming back at the hosts, Fabregas shaping to shoot from 20 yards. His attempted pass into the bottom left doesn’t have much power in it, and it’s blocked pretty much at source.
6 min: Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to have a relaxed stroke. Behave will you. After some slick passing in the middle of the park, Pedro makes a break down the right and hooks a high one into the Bournemouth box. Begovic rises to claim easily enough.
4 min: More of the Bournemouth patient passing. They’re not really going anywhere, but then that’s not the point early doors against the champions of England. Daniels finally makes a move, haring down the left, but his low cross towards Defoe is easily snaffled by Rudiger.
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2 min: Bournemouth stroke the ball around awhile, getting a feel of the thing. There’s a cracking atmosphere at Dean Court, both sets of fans giving it plenty.
And we’re off! Chelsea get the ball rolling. Within 40 seconds, Fabregas has the ball at his feet just in front of the Bournemouth D, but he dithers, neither shooting nor passing, and the chance of a very quick start for the champions is gone. Bournemouth quietly clear their lines.
But before we get going, there’s a minute of silence, respect and reflection, in honour of the fallen, this being Bournemouth’s last home game before Remembrance Sunday. It’s beautifully observed.
The teams are out at Dean Court! Bournemouth are in their John Bond AC Milan black and red, while Chelsea wear their white away shirts. The night is drawing in but the weather is behaving on the last day of British Summer Time. We’ll be off in a minute!
Antonio Conte talks! “I always see the right attitude from my players, every day and every moment. Cahill is on the bench as part of rotation. We have to play in the Champions League. When I can do rotation, I will do it.”
Eddie Howe speaks! “Winning is the only thing that truly gives confidence, so we’re buoyed by the week we’ve had and hopefully we can finish it off. You have to prepare for every game in this league separately, so we do have to tweak things for specific teams and specific games, and hopefully we’ll have got it right. We’ll see if Defoe can complete 90 minutes; he’s trained well but how long he plays will be dictated by his performance.”
The hosts make two changes to the team that won at Stoke City last weekend. Jordon Ibe and Lys Mousset drop to the bench, to be replaced by Steve Cook and Jermain Defoe.
Chelsea meanwhile make just the one change to the starting XI named ahead of their 4-2 win over Watford last Saturday. Gary Cahill takes a well-deserved rest in the dugout, as Davide Zappacosta steps up.
The teams
Bournemouth: Begovic, Francis, S Cook, Ake, A Smith, L Cook, Surman, Daniels, Stanislas, Afobe, Defoe.
Subs: Boruc, Gosling, Pugh, Arter, Wilson, Mousset, Ibe.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso, Pedro, Morata, Hazard.
Subs: Caballero, Drinkwater, Willian, Batshuayi, Cahill, Christensen, Ampadu.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Welcome to the Saturday teatime game at Dean Court ...
... in which Bournemouth attempt to follow up their win at Stoke with victory over the champions, and clamber out of the relegation mire. Meanwhile Chelsea hope to stay on the leading pack’s coat-tails despite a slightly unconvincing start to the season.
Bournemouth won their first-ever Premier League match against Chelsea, 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in December 2015 thanks to a late Glenn Murray goal. But since then it’s been Chelsea all the way: 4-1 at Dean Court, 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, 3-1 at Dean Court. Chelsea do like to be beside the seaside, beside the sea; can Eddie Howe’s men put an end to their free-scoring south-coast shenanigans? We’ll find out soon enough. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm BST.
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