Bournemouth vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance10,667.
Report and free match highlights as Bournemouth go three games unbeaten against Chelsea in their Premier League meetings
Saturday 29 February 2020 19:51, UK
Marcos Alonso continued his fine scoring form in the Premier League as he rescued a late point for Chelsea in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
Alonso scored just his second goal of the season against Tottenham last weekend and made it two in two when he slammed home Chelsea's opener just after the half-an-hour mark.
But Bournemouth - who had beaten Chelsea in their last two Premier League meetings - took a storming lead in three second-half minutes. Jefferson Lerma (54) powered a header home before Joshua King's (57) slotted finish, which was confirmed after a VAR check for offside.
Chelsea were camped inside the Bournemouth half as the game went on and Alonso came to the rescue again when he nodded home in the 85th minute to seal a point for the travelling Blues.
The result sees Chelsea go four points clear of Manchester United in fifth while Bournemouth drop to 18th after West Ham's win against Southampton and Watford's shock victory over Liverpool.
Many of the best first-half chances came in the opening ten minutes, and mostly fell to Bournemouth. Philip Billing went close twice, having a first effort saved by a low Willy Caballero hand inside a packed box before hammering another chance into the side of the net.
Chelsea had their own sight of goal as a fierce Mason Mount volley was well saved by Aaron Ramsdale, but Caballero was back in action not long after. King was sent away down the left-hand side before squaring the ball to the waiting Callum Wilson. Fikayo Tomori fluffed his attempted clearance, allowing the striker to hook the ball goalwards, but Caballero was there to palm the effort away.
From then, Chelsea took control of the game but their possession only carved out half-chances. However, they finally made it count in the 33rd minute. It was a wonderful move from the visitors as Reece James' right-wing cross was flicked onto the crossbar by Olivier Giroud. The ball looked to be going wide as it fizzed past Pedro in the middle, but Alonso was waiting at the back post to smash the ball into the far corner for his second successive Premier League goal.
Chelsea should have added to their tally instantly after the break. Mateo Kovacic picked up a loose ball after a Billing tackle on Mount, and slotted it down the left for Alonso. He then squared it into the middle for the waiting Giroud, but scuffed his shot and sent the ball fizzing past the post.
The visitors were made to pay for their miss when Bournemouth equalised in the 54th minute. Ryan Fraser floated a lovely cross into the area and Lerma was able to easily peel away from his marker, Kovacic, before sending a header past Caballero.
With the decibels rising in the Vitality Stadium and the momentum with them, Bournemouth took the lead 176 seconds later. The impressive Jack Stacey pointed to the open space ahead of him, with Billing obliging by passing the ball to his team-mate's feet. It was a then a wonderful cross through the area from the defender, which King met at the back post to slot home. VAR had a brief look for offside, but there was no case to answer and the goal stood.
Chelsea thought they had equalised in the 73rd minute, but substitute Michy Batshuayi's goal was correctly ruled out for offside. However, they did finally level things up with five minutes to play and it was Alonso to the rescue again.
The visitors had been camped inside the Bournemouth half, although rarely testing Ramsdale, but the Bournemouth goalkeeper showed some great acrobatics to push away an initial volley from Pedro. However, Alonso was lurking at the back post to nod into the back of the net and seal a late point for Chelsea.
Although Chelsea were laboured at times, there is no doubting Alonso is a player full of confidence, and more importantly, goals. Of course, he scored both of his team's goals but he had seven shots overall - the most in the Chelsea side.
When he was not scoring goals, he was an attacking threat down the wing - making four key passes - and should have had an assist to complete his stellar performance. With Tammy Abraham continuing to struggle with injury, Alonso is stepping up to score the goals for Chelsea.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "The glass is half full. To be down 1-0 at half-time against these types of teams, it's very difficult to come back but we did.
"We showed great spirit in that second half and it was a really good opening period from us at the start of both halves today, we just couldn't carry that momentum on. But we got a big point today and hopefully at the end of the season, it will prove pivotal.
"I was pleased with the response [in the second half] and we scored two really good goals. The question was could we hang on, but unfortunately, it wasn't our day.
"We need to get points. Three is the aim, but if we can't get three, let's get one and we haven't done that enough this season. We've been drawing when the games have been really tight and lost some narrow games so this is hopefully a turning point for us."
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard: "We expected their [Bournemouth's] fight and the atmosphere in the stadium so they gave us a difficult game, particularly in that small spell where they scored their two goals.
"Other than that, we should win the game on chances. We had a lot of possession... and at the start of the second half, we should maybe go 2-0 up [through Olivier Giroud], but we don't and then they scored two goals. The character from the team was great in the end, it was not through want of trying, but when we create the number of chances that we do, we need more goals.
"I'm delighted for Marcos. He's had a big week, he scored a great goal at Tottenham and two here, but I don't necessarily want my left-back being top of the scoring charts. We need to score goals in attacking areas and over the last period of games, we haven't.
"If we keep having these games with domination of the ball and lots and chances but we're not clinical enough, it's tough. We have to keep fighting because it's going to be a tough road in."
Soccer Saturday pundit Phil Thompson…
"Eddie Howe will look at this as a point gained. Yes, Bournemouth had the upper hand at 2-1, but for large parts they chased the ball off Chelsea, who were very good. It was such a strange football match; Bournemouth could have been 2-0 up inside 10 minutes but then Chelsea woke up and it was quite astonishing how comfortable Chelsea were. Something had to change at half-time and Howe did just that and changed the course of the game. It was a collective effort and, although they had to hang on in the end, it was a deserved point."
Bournemouth facing a daunting task next weekend when they travel to Liverpool on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm). But before that, Jurgen Klopp's side will travel to Chelsea on Tuesday for their FA Cup fifth-round tie with the Blues welcoming Everton to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League next Sunday, live on Sky Sports (kick-off 2pm).
