Bournemouth – Chelsea: Tepid Blues Held To Painstaking Stalemate At The Vitality (0-0)

Bournemouth and Chelsea played out a painstaking stalemate at the Vitality. A game that was broken up & staggered for most parts ended in a 0-0 draw as neither side could find the breakthrough. The result saw Chelsea drop to 5th in the Premier League table as Bournemouth moved into 13th.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

After putting in two impressive performances against Barcelona in the Champions League and holding league leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge despite being down to ten men after Moises Caicedo was sent off, Chelsea have somewhat stumbled and lost their way in the games that have followed.

A 3-1 loss away to Leeds and this 0-0 draw at the Vitality against Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side, saw the Blues drop crucial points when it seemed like they were in with a shot of a title challenge.

This has almost pertinently been the case for Enzo Maresca’s Blues, who show up in big games but falter when they need to grind out wins and points in tough domestic fixtures. Almost every Chelsea fan would’ve been buoyed and touted this Chelsea side for a league challenge after what they saw against Barcelona and Arsenal, however, the Blues have flattered to deceive yet again.

Chelsea were bolstered by the return of talisman Cole Palmer who started this game against Bournemouth. However, the Chelsea star and the rest of the pack fell flat at the Vitality.

Iraola’s transformation at Bournemouth drew a lot of plaudits last season, but this season they’ve been adrift . . .