Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth: Henderson and Joao Pedro both bag braces to seal top-four spot

Jordan Henderson netted his first goal for Chelsea as they demolished Bournemouth 5-1 at Stamford Bridge, leaving the Blues unbeaten in five competitive home games (W4, D1) and extending the Cherries’ search for a first Premier League win under Marco Rose (D3, L3). 

Match Report

Bournemouth had taken the lead in four of their five league games, but that was certainly not the case here as Xabi Alonso’s side gave them a mountain to climb inside three minutes. Cole Palmer was at the heart of the opener, carrying the ball half the length of the pitch and laying off to Henderson, who struck a first-time curling effort in off the post after 64 seconds. Remarkably, Chelsea fans were celebrating again moments later when Morgan Rogers received the ball just inside the box and bent a shot beyond the reach of former Blues goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic, helped on its way by the head of Antonio Silva.

Having conceded a league-high 12 goals and without a clean sheet in 21 Premier League matches stretching back to last season, Chelsea fans will have known there was still plenty of work to do. And despite controlling much of the first period, Rayan could have halved the deficit when he raced in behind, only to be thwarted by Emiliano Martinez’s quick reflexes nine minutes before the interval.

That proved to be an important stop, as within a minute of the restart, Chelsea had caught Bournemouth cold once again as Pedro Neto wriggled past compatriot Silva and squared for Joao Pedro to rifle into the roof of the net. However, for a league-high 14th time since the start of last season, the Blues conceded a set-piece goal from inside their six-yard box when Evanilson stuck out a leg to block Caicedo’s clearance, diverting the ball into the net for his first goal in 16 league matches.

The Cherries looked to have a lifeline, but after a period of positivity, any chances of a comeback soon vanished. First, Joao Pedro bagged his brace when he timed his run into the box to perfection, applying another first-time finish to turn in Pep Chavarria’s fizzed pass, shortly before Henderson also scored his second of the afternoon, whipping in from a direct free-kick. Those goals understandably knocked the stuffing out of the visitors, who ultimately had no further response.

After a chastening 3-0 defeat to Brentford before the international break, an emphatic victory here ends a run of three winless league outings, making it 10 successive head-to-heads unbeaten (W5, D5) as they climb to fifth for the time being. For 17th-placed Bournemouth, attention now turns to a first-ever European home game against Sturm Graz, offering a chance to build some momentum.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Bournemouth (Jordan Henderson)

4' GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth (Morgan Rogers)

6' Match Event for Chelsea vs Bournemouth

11' Highlight from Chelsea vs Bournemouth

14' Match Event for Chelsea vs Bournemouth

22' Match Event for Chelsea vs Bournemouth

28' Rogers' shot from inside the box is blocked by a defender

31' Palmer brings down Christie, foul

69' Yellow Card! Ryan Christie booked

70' GOAL! 36 years young and still delivering! Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth (Jordan Henderson)

74' Caicedo and Pedro are subbed off

83' Match Event for Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Line-ups

Chelsea XI: Henderson, E. Martinez, Pedro Neto, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Pep Chavarría, João Pedro, Caicedo, Colwill, Josh Acheampong

Subs: Welbeck, Wesley Fofana, Gusto, Lavia, Jorrel Hato, Marco Palestra, Mike Penders, Estêvão, Geovany Quenda

Bournemouth XI: Smith, Ryan Christie, Brooks, Adams, Marcus Tavernier, Djordje Petrović, Evanilson, James Hill, Adrien Truffert, António Silva, Rayan

Subs: Lewis Cook, Di Gregorio, Bafodé Diakité, Juanlu Sánchez, Daniel Jebbison, Álvaro Rodríguez, Ben Gannon-Doak, Julio Soler, Alex Tóth