Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea: Frank Lampard Earns First Win Of Second Spell
Chelsea ended a six-match winless streak with a 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth on Saturday thanks to late goals from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix.
The Blues moved three points above their hosts and are now mathematically safe from relegation for the first time this season.
One of five changes Frank Lampard made to the starting XI that was dismantled by Arsenal on Tuesday gave Chelsea the lead very much against the run of play. Conor Gallagher burst into Bournemouth’s box, nodding Noni Madueke’s cross beyond Neto’s reach after nine minutes. Chelsea’s travelling support sarcastically bellowed: “We scored a goal!” in celebration of the third the Blues have registered since March.
Midway through the first half, Bournemouth fans could deliver the same creative chant.
Lampard lamented that the quick turnaround from Chelsea’s limp loss to Arsenal ensured that there was “not the chance to deal with the more fundamental issues”. That was painfully evident as Bournemouth zig-zagged their way down the left flank with the same ease as Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka. Left-back Matias Vina had forced Kepa Arrizabalaga into a save within the opening four minutes before leaving Chelsea’s shot-stopper with no chance of rebuffing his curling equaliser.
Bouncing the ball off Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke, Vina slalomed through a set of bamboozled and befuddled white shirts, chopping onto his supposedly weaker right foot and picking out the top corner.
Madueke tried his best to pin Vina back with a steady stream of forward thrusts. The entire Bournemouth team retreated deep into their own half after the interval, allowing Chelsea lashings of possession while waiting to strike on the break.
A nervous hush swept around the Vitality Stadium each time Chelsea won a set piece. For 82 long minutes, each delivery was eventually scrambled away until Hakim Ziyech trotted onto the pitch. The £33m afterthought swung a devilish ball into the box which evaded the retreating red and black stripes, landing on Badiashile’s instep for the first Chelsea goal of his career.
With their stubborn resolve pierce, Bournemouth watched on in a daze as Raheem Sterling zipped into the box before squaring for fellow substitute Joao Felix to sweep in a game-sealing third goal.
