In a continuation of a worrying trend, Chelsea were overall better but we’re unable to collect all three points on Tuesday evening, settling for a 2–2 draw against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in their final game of 2025.
Bournemouth struck early through David Brooks, but Chelsea answered swiftly through Cole Palmer’s well-taken penalty before a stunner from Enzo Fernández saw them capture the lead before the 25-minute mark.
But a costly defensive mistake allowed Justin Kluivert to score the equaliser shortly after and although Chelsea took control until the end of the game, they were incapable of finding a winner. To make matters even more frustrating, both goals the hosts conceded where products of a long throw-in into the penalty area.
The draw sees Chelsea enter 2026 having won just one of their last seven Premier League matches. The negative run has seen the Blues tumble down the table and with a daunting visit to Manchester City up next, things won’t get any easier for Enzo Maresca’s struggling side.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Bournemouth (4-2-3-1)
Chelsea have the youngest starting XI average age in the Premier League. Is it any surprise that they're inconsistent? pic.twitter.com/1PeexkzRxc
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) December 30, 2025
GK: Robert Sánchez—6.8: Another game full of crucial saves from the Spaniard, who continued his redemption arc as one of Chelsea’s players of the season. Nothing he could do to stop the goals he conceded.
RB: Josh Acheampong—6.0: The 19-year-old did well containing Antoine Semenyo for much of the night, but he still looked nervy in some instances, leading to dangerous turnovers that he was lucky didn’t prove costly.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah—8.1: One of the worst performances of the season from Chalobah. Bullied physically, loose in his marking and made an egregious mistake that led to Bournemouth’s equaliser.
CB: Wesley Fofana—6.3: On a night where defending seemed optional, Fofana didn’t get the message and was excellent. The Frenchman made brilliant coverages, registered 20 defensive contributions and was great playing out of the back.
LB: Malo Gusto—6.5: Struggled to fill the void of Marc Cucurella on the left flank. He was constantly caught out of position defensively and nearly gave away a penalty with what would’ve been an atrocious handball.
DM: Moisés Caicedo—7.3: An uncharacteristic off-night from the Ecuadorian. He failed to offer his usual balance to Chelsea’s midfield, was played through constantly and was late for a number of challenges. His yellow card inside five minutes is unforgivable given he will now miss Chelsea’s bout with Man City on Sunday.
CM: Enzo Fernández—8.0: Had a very positive start of the match, threading menacing passes and scoring a cracking goal in the opening 30 minutes. His influence significantly dropped in the second half, misplacing passes and looking increasingly erratic as the minutes ticked on.
RW: Estêvão—7.5: It was a very promising showing from the teenager, who aggressively looked to take on defenders routinely, winning a penalty in the process. Was even better in the second half, making a mockery of opponents who dared try to stop him with impressive ease.
AM: Cole Palmer—8.1: Dispatched his penalty with poise and was lively in the final third, being at the heart of Chelsea’s most dangerous actions. It was a good showing, but it’s clear Palmer still isn’t at his sharpest following his injury-ridden start of the term.
LW: Alejandro Garnacho—7.1: Yet another frustrating performance from the summer signing, regardless of his assist. Once again found himself with the ball in dangerous position, but poor decision-making remains a major problem for him and he was hooked at half-time.
ST: Liam Delap—6.6: Although he was more active than in recent performances, especially with some good runs down the channel, he continues to look clumsy on the ball and the end product still isn’t there in the slightest.
| Substitute | Rating |
|---|---|
| Reece James (46’ for Acheampong) | 6.8 |
| Pedro Neto (46’ for Garnacho) | 6.8 |
| João Pedro (63’ for Palmer) | 6.6 |
| Andrey Santos (87’ for Delap) | N/A |
| Jamie Gittens (90’ for Estêvão) | N/A |
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Jorrel Hato, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoît Badiashille, Facundo Buonanotte.
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Djordje Petrović; Alex Jiménez, James Hill, Marcos Senesi, Adrien Truffert; Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott; David Brooks, Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo; Evanilson.
Subs used: Amine Adli, Enes Ünal.
Chelsea Player of the Match: Wesley Fofana and Cole Palmer
Player of the Match: David Brooks (Bournemouth)
Chelsea 2–2 Bournemouth: How It Unfolded at Stamford Bridge
The game couldn’t have started much worse for Chelsea, as Moisés Caicedo picked up a yellow card inside five minutes that will sideline him for his side’s weekend trip to Man City. If that wasn’t enough of a bad start, things got worse just a minute later.
A long Antoine Semenyo throw-in resulted in two Bournemouth headers inside the penalty area. Robert Sánchez initially did well to stop David Brooks’ effort, but the rebound fell right back into his path and he tapped in the opener for the visitors.
Chelsea responded after the dreadful start thanks to an incisive run from Estêvao, who was taken down inside the penalty area by Semenyo, resulting in a spot-kick following a VAR check. Cole Palmer stepped up and buried Chelsea’s equaliser in the 15th minute.
Brooks had a dream chance to score his brace just three minutes later, but Sánchez continued his impressive season with a phenomenal save from short range. Chelsea assumed control after that, and it didn’t take long for them to capitalise.
Following a long period of possession, Alejandro Garnacho found Enzo Fernández inside the penalty area. The Argentine’s first touch was stellar, his body feint to create space was even better and his finish into the top corner crowned an absolutely magnificent goal.
A top strike from Enzo in the 22nd minute. 😮💨#CFC | #CHEBOU pic.twitter.com/1PiqiRCcKk
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 30, 2025
But the joy was short-lived, as Trevoh Chalobah made a mess of an attempted clearance from another long throw-in, instead flicking the ball towards the back post where Justin Kluivert appeared unmarked to tap in Bournemouth’s equaliser. The game somewhat settled for the rest of the first half, but four goals inside 30 minutes exposed the chaotic nature and poor defensive efforts witnessed before the break.
The game went into a bit of a lull after the break, with both teams looking slightly exhausted, understandable given the frenetic pace the match was played during in the first half.
Chelsea grew into the game looking to find the winner. Estêvão started taking over but a couple of key interventions from Djordje Petrović and Marcos Senesi denied the Brazilian from giving the hosts the lead.
Although Maresca’s men continued to push forward, they looked somewhat unimaginative in the final minutes as exhaustion became evident. In fact, Bournemouth’s Enes Ünal had the best chance in the dying minutes, but he couldn’t get his close range shot on target to score the match winner.
In the end, Chelsea were unable to make their second half dominance count and will enter 2026 immersed in a crisis that has seen them emphatically drop out of the Champions League places in the Premier League.
Chelsea vs. Bournemouth Half Time Stats
| Statistic | Chelsea | Bournemouth |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 60% | 40% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 1.33 | 1.67 |
| Total Shots | 8 | 14 |
| Shots on Target | 2 | 6 |
| Big Chances | 1 | 5 |
| Pass Accuracy | 83% | 74% |
| Fouls Committed | 5 | 7 |
| Corners | 2 | 1 |
Chelsea vs. Bournemouth Full Time Stats
| Statistic | Chelsea | Bournemouth |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 67% | 33% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 2.43 | 2.83 |
| Total Shots | 17 | 17 |
| Shots on Target | 3 | 6 |
| Big Chances | 2 | 6 |
| Pass Accuracy | 85% | 73% |
| Fouls Committed | 5 | 12 |
| Corners | 12 | 3 |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Bournemouth: Alarming Mistakes Spoil Blues’ New Year’s Celebrations.
