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CHELSEA MISSES CHANCE: GOALLESS DRAW AGAINST RESILIENT BOURNEMOUTH
Maresca's team looked uneasy and wasted a second-half improvement. The draw, coupled with Liam Delap's injury, stalls Chelsea's attempt to join the Premier League title race.
Chelsea's hopes of closing the gap at the top of the Premier League were dashed after a scoreless draw against Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium.
After Arsenal lost earlier on Saturday, Enzo Maresca’s team had a chance to get within six points of the lead against a Bournemouth team that had been struggling, losing four of their last five games. Despite a strong second-half effort, Chelsea couldn't find the final pass needed to break through the Bournemouth defence.
Chelsea was lucky not to concede in the first half, as Robert Sanchez made some great saves to deny Andoni Iraola’s team.
It seems like Chelsea's goalkeeper problems are a thing of the past. The visitors have Sanchez to thank for earning a point, as he was named man of the match after a string of impressive saves.
Antoine Semenyo had a goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review. This gave Bournemouth confidence, and Marcus Tavernier soon tested Sanchez with a powerful shot.
The next real chance came after 20 minutes, when Marc Cucurella headed Pedro Neto’s cross over the bar.
Chelsea appeared uneasy. Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah were back in central defence after the poor showing at Leeds, but the change didn't bring much calm. With every mistake, Bournemouth's confidence grew. Semenyo was also causing problems for Malo Gusto on the right wing.
Liam Delap left the field in the 30th minute with what looked like a shoulder injury. Marc Guiu surprisingly replaced him instead of Joao Pedro.
The first half was fairly even, but Bournemouth finished strongly. Semenyo beat Gusto and shot towards the corner, Sanchez pushed it across the goal, and Evanilson couldn't quite reach it at the far post.
Sanchez then made two great saves from Alex Scott and Semenyo to keep Chelsea in the game.
Neto forced a save from Djordje Petrovic early in the second half, and Alejandro Garnacho headed Neto’s cross against the post.
Guiu missed a great chance from close range, sending the ball high into the stands. Then, Cole Palmer, making his first start since September, shot straight at the keeper.
Chelsea improved in the second half and looked more likely to score. Garnacho, who was quiet in the first half, became more involved and fired a shot just wide of the post.
With 15 minutes left, Maresca brought on Estevao, hoping he could provide the final pass that had been missing.
However, it was Bournemouth’s Semenyo who almost won it, forcing Sanchez to make another great save.
ENZO MARESCA EXPLAINS: WHY ESTEVAO WILLIAN STAYED ON THE BENCH DURING 2-1 UCL DEFEAT
Unused sub Estevao Willian showed his desire to win by kicking a cone in frustration after Chelsea conceded to Atalanta, a moment Maresca explained was due to an injury change.
Estevao Willian's disappointment was clear during Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Atalanta in the Champions League. The 18-year-old winger spent the whole match on the bench Tuesday night as Chelsea blew their lead.
Joao Pedro scored first for Chelsea, slipping the ball past Marco Carnesecchi. Even though they had a few more good chances, the Blues didn't score again before Atalanta tied the game.
Late in the game, Charles De Ketelaere scored, his shot deflecting past Robert Sanchez. With this loss, Chelsea has dropped out of the top eight and hasn't won in their last four games.
Estevao really wanted to play in Bergamo, but he remained a substitute. He warmed up in the second half and was near the field when Gianluca Scamacca scored the tying goal.
A fan caught Estevao's reaction to the goal and posted it on X (the social media platform previously known as Twitter). The young player was clearly upset when Atalanta scored, grabbing his shirt and saying something to himself before kicking a training cone.
He went back to warming up with Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos, Marc Guiu, and Facundo Buonanotte. Even during this tough moment, Estevao's desire to play, his love for the game, and his will to win were obvious.
After the game, Maresca told reporters why Estevao didn't play. Tosin [Adarabioyo] had to come on because Wes [Fofana] needed to be subbed out; that was a change we had to make, the Chelsea coach said.
If we had another substitution available, Estevao or Andrey [Santos] probably would have played. But that change changed our plan for the game a bit.
Maresca talked about the difficulties of rotating the starting lineup: Tonight, our starting eleven included eight or nine players who also played against Tottenham, Barcelona, Wolves, and Arsenal.
We had eight or nine players who played in most of these matches. So, the five changes we made compared to the Bournemouth game were different.
But if you look at the team, we had eight or nine players who also played against Barcelona, Arsenal, Tottenham, Wolves, you know, those types of games. These are the players who are playing almost every game.
About the results, Maresca commented, "After we conceded, we lost some control of the match." In the first half, we scored a goal, allowed some chances, but also created a few of our own.
In the second half, we had two good opportunities to score another goal. But after they scored to tie the game, we lost control again, and then they scored a second time.
I think we could have stopped both goals. They were easy goals to avoid.
JOE COLE DEMANDS EXPERIENCE: CHELSEA'S COLLAPSE AFTER ATALANTA LOSS IS 'DISAPPOINTING'
Following a major loss to Atalanta, former Chelsea star Joe Cole highlights the team's need for experienced leaders to navigate tough matches.
After Chelsea's loss to Atalanta in the Champions League, Joe Cole made it clear what he thinks the team needs. Their recent form has been really disappointing, he said.
Just weeks ago, after they crushed Barcelona 3-0, people thought Enzo Maresca's team could go far in both the Premier League and Champions League.
But since then, Chelsea hasn't won four straight games. They've dropped to fifth place in the Premier League, eight points behind Arsenal.
On Tuesday, Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead against Atalanta, but the home team came back with two goals in the second half to win 2-1.
This loss puts Chelsea in 11th place in the Champions League, and they'll likely fall even further after Wednesday's games.
Cole said Chelsea's performance in Italy was really disappointing. He believes that his old club needs to add some experienced players to Maresca's squad.
Since Todd Boehly took over in 2022, Chelsea has spent a ton of money, but they've mostly signed young players with potential rather than established stars.
It’s really disappointing, Cole told TNT Sports after the 2-1 defeat. Chelsea played well in the first half and got the first goal.
But they looked shaky after that, and you could see their weaknesses. It’s frustrating.
They played great against Barcelona, but they haven't kept that up, with three poor performances since then.
I keep thinking that they need more experienced players to help them get through tough games.
The coaches probably told them what to expect tonight, but it helps to have someone who's been there before on the field.
Chelsea isn't quite there yet. They show flashes of potential and have some great games, but then they have games like tonight where they just don't play well.
This weekend is very important because they haven't won in four games. They have to win against Everton.
Steve Sidwell, another former Chelsea player, added, The first half was even, but Chelsea looked disorganised in the second half, maybe because of the changes they made.
They seemed a bit off, and if you give good players time and space, they'll make you pay.
After this disappointing result in Italy, Chelsea's chances of qualifying for the Champions League are uncertain.
Maresca's team will play Pafos at home in their next European game on January 21, followed by a game against Napoli the following week.
When asked about Chelsea's chances in their last two games, Cole said, You'd expect them to beat Pafos at home, which would set up a huge game at Antonio Conte’s Napoli.
That game will be important. You don’t have to finish in the top eight, but you want to avoid playing extra games because the Premier League is tough.
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