Match ends, Bournemouth 4, Chelsea 0.
BournemouthAFC Bournemouth4ChelseaChelsea0
Chelsea slipped out of the top four in the Premier League as two goals and an assist by Joshua King helped Bournemouth to a thumping victory over the Champions League hopefuls.
King scored either side of a composed David Brooks finish, before Charlie Daniels added a fourth as the Cherries condemned the visitors to a second consecutive league defeat.
Bournemouth were fortunate to be level at the interval as Artur Boruc produced five impressive saves to deny a Chelsea side that failed to penetrate their hosts' defence despite 70% of possession.
But the hosts took just two minutes of the second half to go in front as King arrived late in the Chelsea box to smash Brooks' cutback past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The duo combined again for the second as King lofted the ball over a scrambling Chelsea defence for Brooks to latch on to and fire into the bottom corner.
The influential Welshman hobbled off in the second half, but King added a third with the final touch of a flowing Bournemouth move - a right-footed finish from close range.
Substitute Daniels produced the finishing touch within a minute of being on the pitch with a stooping header in injury time.
A second consecutive league win for Bournemouth moved them up to 10th in the table, while Chelsea drop to fifth by virtue of scoring fewer goals than Arsenal.
- 'It's my fault' - Sarri takes blame for Chelsea defeat
- Reaction to Wednesday's Premier League matches
No Wilson, no problems
Bournemouth scored four goals for the third time this season despite the absence of top goalscorer Callum Wilson, who had minor knee surgery.
The England striker has scored 11 goals for the Cherries this season, but King and Brooks showed they still carry a threat without him.
The hosts did not have many chances but were clinical in front of goal - scoring four goals from just six shots in a blistering second half.
But they were also impressive at the opposite end of the pitch as well.
The talented Brooks has had an impressive first season in the top flight, and his defensive display in man-marking Jorginho prevented Chelsea finding openings despite large spells of possession.
Following the game, Howe said it was something his side had worked on.
"David did a brilliant job beyond his years with his diligence, and then he showed his class at the other end as well so I'm pleased for him," said Howe.
Chelsea pass themselves into trouble
The visitors' Champions League ambitions took a major blow on the south coast, as they crumbled to their heaviest league defeat since 1996.
Maurizio Sarri's men should have been comfortably in front after a dominant first half, but on the few occasions they managed to get in behind their hosts, they met an inspired Boruc.
The 38-year-old pulled off a fingertip save to stop Mateo Kovacic giving Chelsea the lead with a close-range header in the sixth minute.
And the Blues made 405 passes in the first half but managed only five shots at goal as they failed to carve open a stubborn Bournemouth defence.
Chelsea loan signing Gonzalo Higuain played just over an hour on his Premier League debut, but his first instinct was to try to link up with talisman Eden Hazard rather than test Boruc.
The Argentina international failed to register a single shot on goal during his 65 minutes on the field, but he and Hazard played 15 passes to each other.
Improvements will have to be made in the coming weeks if Chelsea are to trouble Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, before attempting to regain their place in the top four.
Man of the match - David Brooks (Bournemouth)
'We are very pleased with how our season is shaping up' - what they said
Speaking to Match of the Day, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said: "That has got to be up there [as one of my best results]. It was a big night for us and it is great to do it here in front of our own fans.
"We have always been known for our attacking play but our defensive play needed looking at. We had long periods without the ball so full credit to all of our players. Artur Boruc was superb and his save very early in the match was world-class.
"It is a good place to be but we have high standards and high expectations. The wins are the most important things and we are very pleased with how our season is shaping up."
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri told Match of the Day: "We need to change something in the mentality because you can concede, but you need to play because the match was under control in the first half.
"It is a very strong setback because we knew this match was very important. It is not easy to play after today but we need to react."
Cherries always beat Chelsea on Wednesday's - match stats
- Bournemouth secured only their second-ever competitive home win against Chelsea and first since September 1988 (L5).
- This is just the second time in Premier League history Chelsea have lost a game by a four-goal margin, after losing 5-1 to Liverpool in September 1996.
- Chelsea have lost consecutive Premier League games for the first time since March 2018, when they were defeated by both Manchester clubs.
- Both of Bournemouth's Premier League wins on a Wednesday have come against Chelsea.
- Chelsea have won 47 points after 24 games this season - three fewer than at this stage in 2017-18 (50).
- Brooks both scored and assisted in an English league game for the first time in his career.
- King has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances against Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium.
- King has been directly involved in 48 Premier League goals for Bournemouth (38 goals, 10 assists), 12 more than any other Cherries player in the competition.
What's next?
Bournemouth travel to Cardiff City in the Premier League on Saturday, 2 February (15:00 GMT), while Chelsea host Huddersfield Town at the same time.
Line-ups
Bournemouth
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 1Boruc
- 23Clyne
- 3S Cook
- 5Aké
- 15A Smith
- 19StanislasSubstituted forMephamat 90+5'minutes
- 4Gosling
- 6SurmanBooked at 72mins
- 24FraserSubstituted forDanielsat 90+2'minutes
- 20BrooksSubstituted forIbeat 68'minutes
- 17King
Substitutes
- 9Mousset
- 10Ibe
- 11Daniels
- 21Rico
- 27Begovic
- 29Solanke
- 33Mepham
Chelsea
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 28Azpilicueta
- 2Rüdiger
- 30David Luiz
- 33Emerson
- 7Kanté
- 5Jorginho
- 17KovacicSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 77'minutes
- 11PedroSubstituted forWillianat 61'minutes
- 9HiguaínSubstituted forGiroudat 65'minutes
- 10E Hazard
Substitutes
- 3Alonso
- 8Barkley
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 13Caballero
- 18Giroud
- 22Willian
- 27Christensen
- Referee:
- Roger East
- Attendance:
- 10,227
Match Stats
Home TeamBournemouthAway TeamChelsea
- Possession
- Home32%
- Away68%
- Shots
- Home12
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away7
- Corners
- Home3
- Away7
- Fouls
- Home8
- Away6
Live Text
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Full Time
Second Half ends, Bournemouth 4, Chelsea 0.
Goal!
Goal! Bournemouth 4, Chelsea 0. Charlie Daniels (Bournemouth) header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Jordon Ibe with a cross following a set piece situation.
Substitution
Substitution, Bournemouth. Chris Mepham replaces Junior Stanislas.
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Foul by Emerson (Chelsea).
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Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Antonio Rüdiger.
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Attempt blocked. Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joshua King.
Substitution
Substitution, Bournemouth. Charlie Daniels replaces Ryan Fraser.
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Foul by Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).
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Andrew Surman (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. Willian (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.
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Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth).
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Foul by Jorginho (Chelsea).
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Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Dan Gosling.
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Attempt saved. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Eden Hazard with a cross.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Nathaniel Clyne.
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Attempt missed. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Eden Hazard following a corner.
Comments
Join the conversation
Little AFC with their underrated team of mainly British players and a manager (who, being English, naturally isn’t deemed to be fit to be considered for a top job) absolutely stuff a team of foreign mercenaries run by a an wildly overrated manager who has so little regard for homegrown players to the extent he leaves out 1 of the most talented kids in league
Feel like we've had this coming for a while.
Super enjoyable season though.
Wishing you all a lovely rest of the week. Stay safe, it's cold out!
This is taking BOTTLING it to a new level. Hammered by Bournemouth 4-0 lol
Hilarious.
Lol. COYS
He only questioned their motivation, and rightly so! Pathetic bunch!
In my opinion, Eddie Howe is the outstanding manager in world football.
UTCIAD