And that’s that! Chelsea are the thoroughly deserved winners; the only wonder is how Bournemouth restricted them to one goal. Eden Hazard’s strike allows Chelsea to reclaim fourth place in the Premier League; Bournemouth remain a point and three goals below the relegation line in 19th place. Chelsea are grinding out results right now; the sign of a good team, all that. But they’re still pinging it around in a very pretty fashion. Next week, Jose Mourinho pays a return visit to Stamford Bridge. It promises to be a cracker.
90 min +3:Bournemouth get a shot on target at last! And it nearly earns them a point. Surman and Ibe combine well down the middle, and suddenly the ball breaks to Steve Cook, just to the left of the D. He lashes a hard riser goalwards. Courtois is behind it all the way, snaffling and falling to the ground in relief.
Bournemouth’s Steve Cook fires in a shot in the final minutes, but Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has it covered. Photograph: TGSPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
90 min: A throw for Bournemouth, deep in Chelsea territory down the right. Steve Cook launches it long. Courtois bravely comes off his line, bursts through and over a forest of players, and claims with ease. What fine, confident, assertive goalkeeping. I wonder what he talks to Simon Mignolet about when they’re on international duty?
88 min: Francis is booked for a cynical check on Alonso as Chelsea attempt another break upfield. Both teams look a little nervous right now, for different reasons.
87 min: Francis swings a glorious deep cross in from the right. Zappacosta does extremely well to head the ball clear at the far post under pressure from Wilson. Chelsea zip upfield, Willian chasing after a long hoick. Begovic comes out of his box to head clear ... and heads it straight at Willian! But he does well to challenge the winger to the second bounce, and mop up his mess. What nonsense.
Chelsea’s Willian attempts to bamboozle Bournemouth’s Steve Cook. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
86 min: Fabregas plays a delightful ball round the corner to set Zappacosta clear down the right. The flag goes up for offside. Zappacosta kicks the ball away to waste a little time, and gets away with it.
83 min: Bakayoko robs Daniels in the middle of the park. Alonso is sent scampering up the other end. He feeds Hazard down the left. Hazard in turn shuttles the ball on for Fabregas, who is near the byline but looks to curl the ball round Begovic and into the top right. That’s close, but high and wide. A real chance to seal the win spurned through an over-complicated approach.
75 min: Wilson’s first contribution is to become involved in a three-man attack with Ibe and Pugh. The move ends with the superb Luiz blocking Wilson’s speculative shot. Chelsea hearts were in mouths for a second or two there. Chelsea have been totally dominant, but there’s just the one goal in it.
Eden Hazard attempts to get past Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook and start another Chelsea attack. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA
73 min: Another muscle pull suffered by a Bournemouth player: this could be a costly evening for the Cherries going forward. Afobe is the victim this time. On comes Callum Wilson, to warm cheers from fans fully aware of his long journey back from ACL injuries. The world of football will be wishing him all the luck.
72 min: Adam Smith does very well to reach a long ball down the right wing, and hook it into the Chelsea box. Running from deep, Pugh meets it with his head on the edge of the area, but he can’t guide his effort anywhere near the goal.
70 min: Chelsea ping it around in the middle. Bournemouth are chasing shadows again. Conte’s tantrum appears to have done the trick, knocking the visitors back up a gear or two.
67 min: Luiz looks to be in an awful lot of trouble, pinned in near his own corner flag on the left. But he one-twos with Rudiger, then threads a delightful ball up the wing for Pedro, who scampers into acres. Pedro’s ball further down the channel, intended to release Alonso into the box, is really poor, and Francis can slide the ball away from danger. That would have been a sensational goal, given Luiz’s stylish escape down the other end; a shame the move broke down.
66 min: More space for Ibe, a bit further out this time. This shot sails into orbit. But after going close a few minutes ago, you can’t fault him for having another pop.
64 min:Chelsea respond to their irate manager’s wishes. Hazard surveys the situation, then suddenly fires a pass down the inside-right channel for Pedro in the area. Pedro flicks it back inside for Hazard to run onto. Hazard gets there, but sends a shot sailing miles over the bar. Better from Chelsea, who had slowed down dramatically a couple of minutes after the goal.
62 min: Stanislas has pulled a muscle, and Pugh comes on in his stead. While the game is stopped, Conte takes the opportunity to come to the touchline and give his team a very expressive bollocking.
60 min: Some fine pressing by Bournemouth. Rudiger isn’t allowed to clear down the left. Alonso is stopped hoicking a clearance up the other wing. Eventually Courtois slices a panicked clearance out of play. Nothing comes of the resulting throw, deep in Chelsea territory, and Courtois claims. But this is a very impressive response to falling behind by Bournemouth, especially after rocking violently in the immediate wake of conceding.
Chelsea’s David Luiz beats Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe to the ball. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
58 min: Ibe very nearly spins and turns past Rudiger down the right. The Chelsea defender does well to recover and hack out for a throw. Steve Cook launches long, but it’s easily cleared by Chelsea, who zip upfield. Hazard makes off up the left. Adam Smith slides in, and is booked for the clumsy foul that follows.
57 min: And suddenly a chance for Ibe! Luiz and Fabregas run into each other 35 yards from their own goal. The ball breaks to Stanislas, who rolls it forward to Ibe. The sub has space and time on the edge of the area, but his powerful rising drive is deflected over the bar for a corner. The set piece comes to nothing.
56 min:Bournemouth enjoy a little possession in the midfield. They go nowhere, but that’s not really the point; they desperately need a few seconds to catch their breath and regroup after conceding the opening goal.
53 min: Pedro, Hazard and Zappacosta run very fast at the Bourmemouth back line. Danger is just about kept at arm’s length this time. But the hosts are rocking.
Morata wriggles away from three opponents in the centre circle. He wedges a pass down the inside left. Francis should hoick clear, but air kicks. Hazard scoots into the area and bashes a shot towards the near post. In it goes. Begovic should have done much better. Think Heighway v Wilson in the 1971 FA Cup final. Mistakes all round by the hosts.
Eden Hazard of Chelsea scores the first goal past Bournemouth keeper Asmir Begovic. Photograph: TGSPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
Hazard is pretty chuffed to have opened the scoring. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
50 min: Morata and Hazard eat up the yards in the middle of the park. Hazard eventually rolls a pass down the left for Alonso, who is in acres. He fires a low cross through the box. Pedro wasn’t too far away from meeting that in the middle, but not quite.
47 min: Chelsea are immediately on the front foot, Morata probing down the right. Then Fabregas tries to get something moving through the middle, but neither shoots nor passes. We were here early on in the first half with Fabregas. He looks as frustrated now as he did back then.
And we’re off again! “I admire your steadfast refusal to refer to Bournemouth’s home ground as anything other than Dean Court,” writes Mr Morris. “None of this Vitality Stadium nonsense from the Manchester Guardian.” Quite. Anyway, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic kick off, having made a change: Ibe on, Defoe off. Can he trouble the Pensioners?
Half-time news service: Just in case you haven’t heard, England have just won a World Cup. Not the World Cup, but this version’s surely enough to be getting on with.
And right on the stroke of 45 minutes, the whistle goes. Chelsea have been utterly dominant, but the hosts have held firm - and on another day, might have even carved out a goal or two themselves. How it’s still 0-0 is anyone’s guess. It promises to be an entertaining second half. Go nowhere!
43 min: Pedro and Hazard combine down the inside-right channel, setting up Fabregas six yards out. Steve Cook and Begovic combine to block the resulting shot. Bournemouth have been staunch at the back, but they surely can’t keep on like this. Chelsea have been very lively in attack, without ever quite slipping into Scintillating Mode.
Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas misses a chance to score. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images via Reuters
41 min: More of the Chelsea tiki-taka. Ping, ping, ping. Eventually Hazard clips one in from the right, and Pedro attempts to flick a header onwards and into the top left. He doesn’t quite catch it. This 0-0 scoreline is quite a puzzle.
39 min: Bournemouth win a corner down the right, and work the set piece nicely, eventually finding Francis in space out on the same wing. Francis whips it into the box. Afobe rises with a view to banging a header goalwards, but he’s foiled by the top of the ever-excellent Azpilicueta’s head, which glances the cross away. Just for a split second there, after being under the cosh for so long, it looked as though the Cherries might snatch the lead.
