Well, it has been a humbling afternoon for Bournemouth, who are edging seconds closer to their third straight league defeat at the Vitality Stadium, and have simply been outclassed by Chelsea today.
90' +1
E. Hazard has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by N. Matić.
It was a good run by Matic, who did well to shake off his marker and pick out Hazard, but the credit again must go to Fabregas, who instigated the move with a fantastic reverse pass into the path of the Serbian.
GOOOOAAAAALLLL!! HAZARD DOUBLES HIS TALLY! Well, after going all season without netting in the league, the Belgian now has two in the same game as he gets on the end of Matic’s low cross and nudges it home from close range. Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea!
89'
M. Ritchie gets yellow.
A bit of an unnecessary flashpoint now, as Ritchie picks up the first yellow card of the game for a nasty stamp on Fabregas, to which, understandably so, the Spaniard reacted badly to.
87'
Appeals for a penalty now from the Chelsea players after Costa, yet again having been played in by another delightful Fabregas pass, takes a tumble following Francis’ challenge, but Mr East has deemed that the tackle was perfectly legal.
85'
That’s another glorious pass from Fabregas as he looks to pick out Pedro with a searching cross-field ball. It drops just in front of the winger, but fortunately for Bournemouth, Boruc had reacted swiftly and was on hand to smother the danger.
83'
R. Loftus-Cheek enters the game and replaces Willian.
A first change now for the visitors, as Willian - who is struggling with cramp - makes way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who had started the previous three Premier League games in a row.
81'
Top-class defending from Francis, who slides in perfectly on Willian to prevent the Brazilian getting in on goal following a quick counter-attack by the visitors. That would have surely been game over if the Chelsea winger had got in on goal then...
80'
A series of corners now for the hosts, as they manage to sustain some territory in Chelsea’s half. They have simply not been good enough in the second half, but there is still time for them to mount a late comeback if they can snatch a goal.
78'
M. Ritchie enters the game and replaces J. Stanislas.
Finally, Bournemouth manage to forge a foray forward and are rewarded with a corner kick. Before the set-piece can be taken, however, Howe employs the use of his final available change, with Matt Ritchie replacing Junior Stanislas.
74'
Great play by Chelsea, who are strutting their stuff with the result all-but wrapped up. Bournemouth look devoid of ideas, and are unable to cope with the movement of Hazard as he jinks inside from the left and sets up Pedro, who goes for goal with an overly-ambitious bicycle kick that ends up going well wide of the target.
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71'
Willian has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by Cesc Fàbregas.
GOOOOAAAALLL!!! WILLIAN MAKES IT 3-1! Well, it has certainly been coming for the visitors, and they finally have their third goal of the game as Fabregas turns provider yet again with a sublime through ball. Willian races onto it and, with Boruc bearing down on him, simply clips a dinked finish over the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
Fabregas has been excellent today, with Bournemouth giving the former Arsenal captain the time and space to operate and pull the strings in the middle of the park. That assist - his third of the game - sees him move up into third place in the all-time assist rankings in the Premier League.
70'
Compared to their efforts in the first half, Bournemouth have been rather disappointing and disjointed from the restart, with Chelsea seemingly extremely comfortable and content to play the game at their own pace. They step it up when Hazard drills a pass into Fabregas, who flicks an exquisite pass into the path of the Belgian, but he hesitates to shoot and the chance goes begging.
69'
SO CLOSE! That’s a great effort from Afobe, who turns on the edge of the Chelsea area and drills a powerful strike towards goal. It beats Begovic but, unfortunately for the hosts, also beats the right-hand upright.
67'
That’s fantastic defending from Mikel who, despite a moment of hesitation, does well to make a vital interception and prevent Stanislas’ curling cross making its way through to Afobe, who would have had a simple tap-in at the back post.
64'
The second substitution sees Benik Afobe - who himself has missed the last three matches with a hamstring injury - replace Lewis Grabban.
63'
C. Wilson enters the game and replaces J. King.
B. Afobe enters the game and replaces L. Grabban.
The first of the two changes sees Josh King make way for Callum Wilson - who is still Bournemouth’s second-highest scorer this term despite having been out for over six months.
62'
A double change coming up for Bournemouth, as Howe looks to buck the trend of this game and instil some spark into his side. As the substitutes make their way to the touchline, King and Grabban combine excellently to forge a swift counter-attack, which results in the latter racing clear down the right, but Ivanovic does brilliantly to match his speed and make a tackle.
61'
That’s solid defending from Cook, who tracks the run of Costa - who had turned free of Elphick - and gets across to make a well-timed sliding challenge.
59'
Good defending from Daniels as, from the following corner, the ball pinballs out to Pedro on the cusp of the area. The Spaniard sets himself before attempting to hook an effort goalwards, but the Bournemouth full-back came out swiftly to make the block.
57'
Slack play from Baba as he concedes possession with a pass straight to Francis. The Bournemouth defender looks to drive forward, but his touch is heavy and he is quickly dispossessed by Matic. The visitors counter, with Costa holding the play before teeing it off to Pedro, but his effort is deflected wide.
55'
Bournemouth’s main success in the first half came from pushing on to their opposition and forcing Chelsea’s defence into long passes upfield rather than being able to play it into Fabregas, who is currently dictating the play for the visitors, who are crisply and confidently stroking the ball around at the moment. Another patient move eventually results in Pedro looking to thread a pass through to Baba, but his effort is over-hit and Boruc is able to gather it in.
53'
It has been a frenetic start to proceedings following the interval, but - bar Costa’s chance a few moments ago - there has been little in the way of goal-mouth action as of yet, with Chelsea now able to maintain a sustained spell of possession as they look to take the sting out of the game. Howe may well be looking to change things around with a substitution or two in the next few minutes...
50'
CHANCE! That should have been 3-1 to Chelsea! The visitors have barely got out of their own half since the restart, but do so on this occasion as Matic slips a neat pass into the path of Baba, who drives into the area and looks to tee up Costa with a low cross, but the Spain striker is just unable to stretch far enough to get a toe to the ball and direct it into the net from close range.
48'
Neat, patient build-up play once more from Bournemouth, as King and Stanislas combine well on the edge of Chelsea’s area before the latter slides a through ball out to the right flank. Francis stretches to keep it in play, but he is just unable to reach it in time and his momentum takes the ball out.
46'
Welcome back! We are up and running in the second half, with Bournemouth getting proceedings under way...
45' +1
PENALTY!? No! That’s a real let-off for Mikel and Chelsea! The midfielder has not looked comfortable at centre-back all afternoon, and his lack of positioning was exploited again there as Grabban raced clear to the byline. The Nigerian dived in clumsily, not getting much - if any - of the ball, but Mr East deems that it is only worthy of a Bournemouth corner.
44'
CHANCE! What a miss by Pedro! The Spain winger does well to weave his way around two Bournemouth defenders after being teed up by Fabregas but, from just six yards out, he is unable to hit the target with his resulting strike.
42'
Great play from Bournemouth once again, as Stanislas gets on the end of another well-worked counter-attack by the home side. He elects to go for goal with a powerful strike, but he can only blaze the effort over.
39'
CHANCE! What an opportunity that was for the hosts to draw level! Grabban did well to break free of his marker and drive into the area but, instead of electing to pick out King who was unmarked in the area, he tries his luck with a venomous drive that Begovic does well to parry away.
36'
T. Elphick has scored a goal for AFC Bournemouth! Assist by S. Francis.
Bournemouth’s short-corner routines have been causing Chelsea’s makeshift defence all sorts of issues so far this afternoon, and again the visitors were exploited by that move when Francis whipped in a fantastic cross which Elphick duly nudged home.
GOOOOOAAAALLLL!! What a game we are having at the Vitality Stadium, as Bournemouth haul themselves back into proceedings courtesy of Elphick’s first goal of the season. It came about from a well-worked corner, taken short before being whipped in by Francis, with the aforementioned centre-back rising highest to direct a header into the bottom-left corner. Game on!
35'
CROSSBAR! Begovic gets lucky there, as he has to scramble back on his line to prevent a looped cross dropping into the top corner. He just manages to get his finger tips to it, tipping the ball onto the crossbar and out of play.
34'
E. Hazard has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by Cesc Fàbregas.
It was another superb move by Chelsea, with Fabregas again the instigator with a sublime bit of footwork to set up Hazard, who did the rest.
GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!! HAZARD SCORES FOR CHELSEA!!! Well, after going 29 Premier League games without a single goal, the Belgian finally gets off the mark for the season with a drilled strike from the edge of the area which evades Boruc and creeps into the bottom-left corner. Bournemouth 0-2 Chelsea!
33'
CLOSE! Superb play by the hosts, as King races onto a through ball before turning the ball back into Stanislas. The former West Ham winger drives in a fantastic cross that fizzes towards the six-yard box. Grabban rises highest to connect with a glancing header, but he is unable to direct it on target and it flashes just wide.
31'
CHANCE! Bournemouth go short from the resulting corner, with Francis eventually whipping in an inviting cross that King latches onto. His header is a powerful one, but directed straight down the throat of Begovic, who hangs on to make the save.
30'
Wasteful! Great build-up play by Bournemouth sees Grabban released into the area. However, despite having both King and Pugh to aim for in the area, he elects to try his luck with a strike to the near post, which Begovic easily parries out of play.
29'
High and wide! Well, that’s another awful attempt, this time from Baba! The Chelsea full-back found himself in acres of space down on the left flank, but he can only hammer a wayward cross onto the roof of the stand behind the Bournemouth goal. The quality has been lacking in the last five minutes or so!
26'
POOR! That’s an awful effort from Ivanovic, who, after taking free-kick duties off of Willian, directs a tame effort straight into the Bournemouth wall. The hosts break at speed, with King feeding Gosling on the cusp of the Chelsea area. He in turn nudges it on to Pugh, but the winger gets his strike horribly wrong and it skews well wide.
25'
That’s silly from Elphick, who dives in from behind on Costa 30 yards from Bournemouth’s goal. The hosts’ defender escapes a booking, but it provides the visitors with a real opportunity to double their lead...
24'
CHANCE! Encouraging for Bournemouth, as they counter at pace down the left, with Pugh working his way past Azpilicueta and lofting in a cross towards the back post. Grabban is on hand to meet it, but he miss-reads the flight of the ball slightly, and is unable to generate anywhere near enough power on his attempt to trouble Begovic.
23'
Great work from Hazard down the left results in a first corner of the game for Chelsea. Fabregas curls in the cross, which Surman manages to flick out of the area towards the opposite touchline. It looks set to go out of play, but Willian chases it down, standing up his marker before looping in a cross, but Elphick is on hand to head it clear of danger.
22'
CHANCE! What a miss by Cook! A corner, delivered by Surman, from the right flank results in Begovic flapping at the ball, managing only to parry it straight down into the six-yard box. Cook is there to meet it on the half-volley, but somehow he can only turn his effort over the target.
20'
Risky play by Cook! The defender came out in possession, strolling into midfield. However, he slips and the ball breaks free to Fabregas. The former Barcelona midfielder looks set to pick out Costa in the space vacated by the aforementioned Bournemouth man, but he is unusually sloppy in possession and his pass is a wayward one.
19'
A first corner of the game now, as Grabban does well to drag Mikel out of position and attempt to get in a cross, which is duly blocked by the Nigerian. Daniels delivers a low cross, similar to the one that resulted in a goal in the win over Manchester United earlier in the season. Just like on that occasion, it is King who meets it, but this time the Norway striker can only direct his effort high over the crossbar.
17'
STAT FLASH - If Bournemouth lose today, it will be the first time that the Cherries have lost three consecutive home games since March 2013.
14'
After another spell of Chelsea pressure, which ultimately results in nothing more than a shanked cross by Matic, the Cherries manage to retain possession and move up the pitch. Their build-up play is typically crisp and tidy but, as of yet, they have not looked to directly exploit Mikel, who does not look entirely comfortable in central defence. You feel if they are to get any joy this afternoon, the hosts have to look to target the Nigerian and up the intensity of their play.
12'
Bournemouth are having real trouble dealing with Costa at the moment, with the ex-Atletico Madrid striker constantly looking to drop deep and link up with Fabregas, which in turn creates the space for the likes of Willian, Hazard and Pedro to run in behind the hosts’ back-line.
10'
Good block! That’s another superb counter by Chelsea, and again it is Fabregas who - having been given the time and space he needs in midfield - gets the move going with a sublime pass into Willian. The Brazil winger jinks out to left before laying a neat flick back into the path of Hazard. The former Lille playmaker strikes at goal, desperate to net his first of the campaign in the league, but Francis had tracked him well and got across to make a timely interception.
7'
The odds are certainly up against the hosts now, with Howe’s side having managed to claim just four points from losing positions this campaign.
5'
Pedro has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by Cesc Fàbregas.
GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!! CHELSEA TAKE AN EARLY LEAD! That was a superb counter-attack by the visitors, though Howe will be extremely disappointed with his side’s defensive lapse. Following Daniels’ chance just moments earlier, Chelsea countered at pace, with Costa dropping off into midfield before sliding through a neat pass into Fabregas. The Spaniard in turn feeds his compatriot Pedro, who drives into the box under no pressure from the retreating Bournemouth defenders before flicking a delightful finish over Boruc and into the bottom-left corner!
Though Bournemouth’s defending left a lot to be desired, Chelsea showed all of their quality in that move, with Fabregas the architect with a delightful through ball into Pedro - who had raced into the space vacated by Daniels.
4'
CHANCE! An early opportunity for Bournemouth, as Grabban races free down the right flank and beats the offside trap, with Mikel not stepping up alongside Ivanovic. The former Norwich player drives to the byline before drilling a low cross into the box, but the aforementioned Chelsea midfielder gets back to atone for his mistake and make a hurried clearance.
CLOSE! Again, Bournemouth are unlucky not to score! Pugh links up expertly with Daniels, who powers a low drive across the face of goal, but a combination of Begovic and Matic manage to get it clear.
3'
Bournemouth were somewhat caught cold by the pace and high intesntity of Liverpool last time out, but it seems likely that they will be the side who will have to look to force the tempo of today’s meeting. Chelsea have still got the quality to open them up, but the champions have looked like a side who are simply content to cruise through their remaining fixtures in recent weeks.
2'
It has been an end-to-end game so far at the Vitality Stadium, especially since Elphick’s goal. Bournemouth’s defence has looked externally porous at times, with Fabregas in particular thriving in the space provided, but the hosts have certainly looked threatening going forward and consider themselves unfortunate not to have put away more of the chances they have created.
1'
KICK-OFF! We are under way at the Vitality Stadium, with referee Roger East, who officiated Bournemouth’s last home win - against Swansea in March - sounding his whistle and the visitors, donning an all-white away strip, getting proceedings up and running in the south-coast sunshine.
HALF TIME! That’s it for the opening 45 minutes on the south coast, then, where it is Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea at the interval. The visitors took the lead early on through Pedro, before Hazard’s first league goal of the season doubled their advantage shortly after the half-hour mark. However, that two-goal lead lasted just 92 seconds, as Elphick headed home from a fantastic cross by Francis to haul Howe’s side back into the game.
TEAM NEWS - Chelsea substitutes: Falcao, Pato, Traore, Kenedy, Miazga, Amelia, Loftus-Cheek.
TEAM NEWS - Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Azpilicueta, Mikel, Ivanovic, Baba; Fabregas, Matic; Pedro, Willian, Hazard; Costa.
One major positive for Bournemouth over the last few weeks has been the return to action of their star-striker Callum Wilson following his recovery from a terrible knee injury picked up early on in the campaign. The 24-year-old has not been deemed fit to start this afternoon, but after accumulating minutes in short cameo appearances against Aston Villa and in the defeat to Liverpool, he may well be ready to make a big impact from the bench today if required.
It is a typically rowdy atmosphere at the Vitality Stadium which is, as usual, packed to capacity. Many would have expected this clash to represent a six-pointer at both ends of the table, with Bournemouth battling against relegation and Chelsea vying to retain their Premier League crown. As it stands, however, it is something of a mid-table encounter, with little riding on it in the grand scheme of things, though the hosts’ achievements this campaign should not be undermined. For the visitors, however, their players may well be fighting to maintain their places in the Chelsea squad, with incoming manager Antonio Conte sure to ring the changes once he arrives at the club following overseeing Italy in the European Championships.
The team news is in from the Vitality Stadium, and there are some interesting changes for both sides. For the hosts, Howe elects to start Lewis Grabban up top, with Max Gradel not in the squad. That means a switch from the more rigid 4-1-4-1 formation that Howe employed in the defeat to Liverpool, to a more traditional 4-4-2 system. There is a second change as well, for Bournemouth, as Matt Ritchie drops to the bench. His replacement is Mark Pugh.
As for the visitors, their season all-but ended in March when they were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and lost out to Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals in the space of a week. Having gone unbeaten in the league since he started his second spell in charge at Chelsea, Guus Hiddink finally suffered a top-flight defeat when they were dispatched by Swansea City on their last trip away from Stamford Bridge - where they were then thumped 3-0 by Manchester City last time out. The Blues have won four of their previous six meetings with Bournemouth, so history at least is on their side heading into this game, and they have not lost home and away against a newly promoted side in a single Premier League campaign since 2000-2001, when they twice fell foul of Charlton Athletic.
Few will have predicted that, come this stage in the campaign, Bournemouth would be anywhere near drawing level on points with Chelsea. The Cherries enjoyed a fruitful run of form pre-Christmas that saw them move clear of the relegation scrap, and although they have been largely inconsistent since the turn of the year they remain 10 points adrift of 17th-placed Norwich City. With Everton and Watford both not in league action this weekend, a victory would see Howe’s side, who have lost three and won three of their last six Premier League fixtures, rise up to 11th.
Hello and welcome football fans, to our LIVE coverage of what is set to be another entertaining clash in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth host Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium. Eddie Howe’s men could move level on points with the outgoing champions should they claim a victory today and complete a memorable double over the West London side after Glenn Murray’s late goal ensured a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in December. Stick right here for all the action as it happens!
Meanwhile, Hiddink has made three alterations to the side that were beaten so convincingly by Manchester City last weekend. Namanja Matic comes in for Gary Cahill, with the England defender not featuring in the matchday squad today, with John Obi Mikel dropping back into the defence to partner Branislav Ivanovic - with John Terry and Kurt Zouma also sidelined and the Nigerian preferred to the United States youngster Matt Miazga. In goal, Asmir Begovic replaces the suspended Thibaut Courtois following the Belgian’s dismissal last time out. The third change sees Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced by Eden Hazard, who has overcome his own injury troubles to claim a starting berth out on the left wing. Let’s check on the full Chelsea line-up…
FULL TIME! It’s all over at the Vitality Stadium, where it has finished Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea, courtesy of goals from Pedro, Eden Hazard and Willian, aided by a midfield masterclass from Cesc Fabregas.
It was an accomplished and efficient display from the champions, with Fabregas at the heart of it as he turned provider for three of the goals and played a key part in the fourth. What could have been a tricky game to negotiate was made much easier when, in the fifth minute, Pedro gave the visitors the lead, with Hazard doubling it soon after. Tommy Elphick’s header did haul Bournemouth back into proceedings 92 seconds later, but the hosts were never a threat after the interval, with Willian and Hazard adding the goals to wrap up the points and move Chelsea up into ninth place.
As always, it has been a pleasure to bring you all the action from the Premier League this afternoon. Until next time, thank you and goodbye!
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