Chelsea defeated Bournemouth 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to keep the pressure on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Chelsea headed into today’s game having secured maximum points from their opening three fixtures. Maurizio Sarri will have been keen to make it four wins from four, with today’s game providing us with an excellent opportunity to do so.
After a frustrating 45 minutes, the two sides went in goalless. Similarly to against Newcastle last week, Chelsea dominated possession but were unable to find a breakthrough.
Ten minutes into the second-half and former Blue Nathan Ake should have put the visitors ahead. He latched onto a corner just a few feet from goal, but somehow headed over. It was a huge let off.
Ake will have been rueing that miss when Pedro fired Chelsea into the lead just after the 70 minute mark. The Spaniard picked the ball up on the edge of the box, picked his spot and found the bottom corner. If you missed the goal, you can see it here.
After Bournemouth’s back-line was breached once, Chelsea took advantage of their weakness. Eden Hazard linked well with substitute Olivier Giroud to score his second goal in as many appearances. Click here to see his goal.
Bournemouth had no reply, with Chelsea taking maximum points from their opening Premier League fixtures. It really has been the perfect start to life in England for Sarri.
Here’s our player ratings…
Arrizabalaga 6, Azpilicueta 7, Rudiger 7, David Luiz 5, Alonso 6, Jorginho 7, Kante 7, Kovacic 8, Hazard 8, Willian 4, Morata 4. (Subs: Giroud 8, Pedro 8, Loftus-Cheek 6)