Chelsea’s 13-game run of scoring in every match was the longest in the Premier League, but it was consigned to history at the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth held them to a goalless draw.
The Blues were seeking a response from Wednesday night’s sobering 3-1 defeat at Leeds United, but another flat showing saw them again unable to claim victory.
Talk of a title challenge has grinded to a halt, and it won’t be returning until they are consistently beating midtable opposition in the Premier League.
There was an added challenge for Enzo Maresca and his coaching staff to bring with them into the week ahead, as Liam Delap went straight down the tunnel with a shoulder injury that forced him off after half an hour.
Sluggish starters
Maresca was left to lament how Leeds had been better than his side “in all aspects” at Elland Road on Wednesday, but one of their costlier errors on an all-round poor night was their sluggish start, which allowed Leeds to grow in confidence.
Old habits die hard. Chelsea again were tentative and disjointed in the opening exchanges on the south coast. Indeed, the offside flag was their saving grace twice in the first ten minutes.
Antoine Semenyo seized on a loose ball and scored after a mere three minutes, but Chelsea’s reprieve came when a lengthy VAR check chalked the goal off for an Evanilson offside in the build-up.
Just minutes later, the flag again came to Chelsea’s rescue, as a shove by Reece James on Justin Kluivert might have given referee Michael Oliver a penalty call to make if Bournemouth had against not been offside in the lead-up.
Chelsea still hadn’t learnt their lesson by the second half, when the game’s first goal so nearly arrived when Semenyo crossed but Kluivert fired wide. Chelsea switch off far too easily at the moment.
Palmer easing himself back in
The staggered return to make action for Cole Palmer has been a deliberate ploy from Chelsea, who are being extra careful with the England international as they seek to avoid the recurrences of his groin injury as the season progresses.
After 29 minutes off the bench against Leeds in midweek, he made his first start since September 20.
There were flashes of his brilliance, including a deft touch inside to cut past Alex Scott and begin a marauding run forward. And there were moments of rustiness too, like when he ran forward and picked out a pass to Pedro Neto to his right but overhit it and the ball ran out.
Palmer had one sight of goal in the second half as the game became slightly stretched — but his low driven shot was easily held.
There is more to come from Palmer as he works his way up to being able to play 90 minutes, but lasting 58 minutes was a positive step.
Garnacho bright again
One of Chelsea’s better performers on a tough day at the office was Alejandro Garnacho.
The £40million summer signing from Manchester United deserved his start on the south coast. He had been impactful off the bench at Leeds in midweek, almost assisting Palmer for a goal but for the England international’s misfired shot.
Handed the initiative from the off, the 21-year-old used his impressively low centre of gravity to twist and turn past Bournemouth defenders and protect the ball when put under pressure.
The Argentine international also came as close as any of his team-mates to breaking an ultimately unbudgeable deadlock, getting ahead of his marker to head Pedro Neto’s cross against the post.
And soon after that, he was cutting onto his favoured right but arrowing the ball just wide of the target.
His endeavour bore no tangible fruit on this occasion, but Maresca will have been pleased with him on an afternoon that was otherwise all rather frustrating.
