Chelsea 3 Bournemouth 0
Chelsea are bearing down on the record for consecutive Premier League victories as an incisive performance against Bournemouth gave them their 12th win in a row.
Arsenal's streak of 14 wins across two seasons in 2002 is now very much in the sights of Antonio Conte's men after two goals from Pedro and an Eden Hazard penalty dispatched Eddie Howe's visitors with room to spare. Chelsea host Stoke next on New Year's Eve before heading for a London derby with Spurs on January 4th.
Conte made the choice not to start the match with Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi despite the absence of Diego Costa through suspension. The £33 million summer signing has yet to start a league game for the Blues and Conte has said that he still considers the 23-year-old to be a work in progress. Instead, the Italian opted to go without a No 9 and with experience, as he pushed Eden Hazard through the middle with Willian and Pedro alongside him.
Bournemouth meanwhile made three changes to the team that lost to Southampton last weekend. One switch was enforced with Chelsea loanee Nathan Aké unavailable for selection. Howe also opted to change formation, shifting to a back three and matching up the hosts directly.
Howe’s side adapted immediately to the circumstances and were fast and combative throughout the early exchanges. Chelsea worked their way into the game more tentatively and it wasn’t until the 15th minute that Hazard managed to create space for himself around the box, his low shot coming to nothing. From that point, however, the Belgian only got stronger. His blind pass sent Pedro clear for an opportunity in the 21st minute and it was a fantastic dribble from the Belgian that led to the corner from which Chelsea scored the opening goal.
Cesc Fàbregas took the corner, but played it short before heading to the box. The ball found its way to Hazard who once again span his marker and found his Spanish team-mate on the edge of the box. Fàbregas found the delicate through ball and the onrushing Pedro who took one touch wide and then another to chip the ball back the way he came, over Artur Boruc and flying into the far side of the net.
It was a goal of real class, and an opening that came from nowhere. That’s the quality Conte’s team have in their locker and for a minute Bournemouth looked shocked; they’d matched the hosts for effort, but could nothing to stop their quality.
Quickly the Cherries shook off their disappointment. Adam Smith might have had a penalty after being checked by Gary Cahill. Jack Wilshere might have scored from the loose ball anyway but Thibaut Courtois pushed it wide. The Arsenal loanee then hit a volley from a corner straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper. Bournemouth ended the half as well as they had begun it, but remained a goal behind.
Chelsea duly came out after the break and made the game safe. Now noticeably sharper to the ball than Bournemouth, César Aspilicueta robbed them of the ball after Wilshere played a pass marginally behind Harry Arter. Chelsea broke like a wildfire and worked the ball to Pedro who advanced into the box with the defence on the turn. The former Barcelona winger burned past Simon Francis, whose lunging challenge brought him down for a definite penalty. Hazard stepped up and send Boruc the wrong way to score.
Two-nil may be a dangerous scoreline but it carries less risk for this Chelsea team, so effective are they in defence and so deadly on the counter. Five minutes after the penalty Hazard nearly scored again as Chelsea broke from one end to the other in seconds. Willian led and finished the next break, with Boruc doing well to hold the Brazilian’s shot. Moses drove just wide in the 58th minute, Pedro curled beyond the far post in the 64th. In between times there was an impudent vignette as Hazard worked his way around a prone Fàbregas by deftly lifting the ball over his body.
Chelsea were oozing confidence and Conte was also at his most animated, slapping his thighs in frustration at imperfections that were imperceptible to most spectators. His side gave up just one chance for the remainder of the game, Courtois doing enough to stop a shot from substitute Benik Afobe.
Conte's final gesture was to instruct that the ball be cleared into touch so that Batshuayi could come into the play for the final seconds of added time. Instead Chelsea went on another counterattack, Pedro shimmied into space and hit a fearsome shot that deflected off Steve Cook and into the net. Batshuayi made it on to the pitch just in time to hear the final whistle.
(Guardian service)
