Sport
Bournemouth beat stuttering Chelsea
Dan Gosling’s late goal gave Bournemouth their first win since early November in a scrappy encounter at Chelsea.
The match looked to be headed for a goalless draw when Gosling flicked the ball over his and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s head, the goal originally ruled out for offside.
But the video assistant referee (VAR) awarded the goal, ending Bournemouth’s five-match losing streak and earning them their third away win of the season.
Bournemouth have now beaten Chelsea three times in their five Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge.
Their last Premier League points had come on 2 November, when they beat Manchester United at home.
Frank Lampard’s side had lost three of their previous four top-flight games and lacked tempo and creativity as they welcomed Bournemouth, who move up to 14th in the table.
Mason Mount and Emerson had the best chances to score for the hosts, but they were undone by a resolute Bournemouth defence, who thwarted their opponents’ every move.
The result ended their five-match losing streak and handed them their third away win of the season. Their last Premier League points had come on 2 November, when they beat Manchester United at home.
“It’s been a really difficult run, a lot of soul searching has gone on,” Howe told BBC Match of the Day. “We’ve lost a lot of players to injuries and we had to step up to a really tough test.
“We had to come up with something slightly different because if you do the same things you get the same result.
“In the second half I thought we were a real threat in the match and we could have scored more. Our goalkeeper at the other end made some big saves.”
The match looked to be heading for a goalless draw when Gosling flicked the ball over his and Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s head, the effort originally ruled out for offside before VAR awarded the goal.
Bournemouth – who move up to 14th in the table – have now beaten Chelsea three times in their five Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge, the latest consigning Chelsea to their fourth league defeat in their last five matches.
Frank Lampard’s side lacked tempo and creativity and were undone by a resolute Bournemouth defence, but their manager rejected suggestions it was a reality check for his team.
“Maybe for the fans and the players, but not for me,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I didn’t get excited in the great run that we had, the Premier League is tough and I felt there was a lot of improvement needed, and that’s proved true.”
He added: “I think it’s a reaction time for everybody, myself, the players. Fans are coming here and watching us at home struggle to beat teams that we should beat.
“I expected us to offer more to break a team down that was as organised as Bournemouth were.
“Sometimes you can work on things all week and recreating them on a match day is a difficult thing. Today we were too slow with the ball.”
Cherries rewarded for battling performance
Chelsea came into this match on the back of a 3-1 defeat by Everton last week, a match in which, once again, their vulnerabilities in defence had been on show.
Lampard brought in Antonio Rudiger to face Bournemouth for only his second league appearance this season and the Germany international shone in the Blues’ defence, making more clearances and winning more possession than any of his team-mates.
In an uneventful first half, Chelsea’s performance was lifeless, Mason Mount having perhaps the best opportunity to put his side ahead only to be denied by a solid Ramsdale save.
Willian showed glimpses of magic at the heart of every attack the Blues managed to put together, but they went into the interval having been unable to break down Bournemouth’s defence – and showing no sign of ideas of how they might.
When the second half got under way, they looked to have raised their game as they rained in attack after attack , with Emerson going closest to scoring.
But Mateo Kovacic scuppered a late chance to equalise, and Chelsea have now lost two of their last three league home games – as many as they had in the previous 28.
