Marcos Alonso continued his fine scoring form in the Premier League as he rescued a late point for Chelsea in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Alonso scored just his second goal of the season against Tottenham last weekend and made it two in two when he slammed home Chelsea's opener just after the half-an-hour mark.

But Bournemouth - who had beaten Chelsea in their last two Premier League meetings - took a storming lead in three second-half minutes. Jefferson Lerma (54) powered a header home before Joshua King's (57) slotted finish, which was confirmed after a VAR check for offside.

Chelsea were camped inside the Bournemouth half as the game went on and Alonso came to the rescue again when he nodded home in the 85th minute to seal a point for the travelling Blues.

The result sees Chelsea go four points clear of Manchester United in fifth while Bournemouth drop a place to 17th after West Ham's win against Southampton, which also sees them remain two points ahead of the bottom three.

Many of the best first-half chances came in the opening ten minutes, and mostly fell to Bournemouth. Philip Billing went close twice, having a first effort saved by a low Willy Caballero hand inside a packed box before hammering another chance into the side of the net.

Chelsea had their own sight of goal as a fierce Mason Mount volley was well saved by Aaron Ramsdale, but Caballero was back in action not long after. King was sent away down the left-hand side before squaring the ball to the waiting Callum Wilson. Fikayo Tomori fluffed his attempted clearance, allowing the striker to hook the ball goalwards, but Caballero was there to palm the effort away.

Player ratings

Bournemouth: Ramsdale (6), Stacey (8), Ake (7), S Cook (7), Smith (7), Billing (7), L Cook (7), Lerma (7), Fraser (6), King (7), C Wilson (6).

Subs used: Stanislas (5), Gosling (n/a).

Chelsea: Caballero (6), Azpilicueta (7), Christensen (6), Tomori (5), James (7), Jorginho (7), Kovacic (7), Alonso (8), Mount (7), Pedro (7), Giroud (7).

Subs used: Barkley (6), Willian (6), Batshuayi (6).

Man of the match: Marcos Alonso.

From then, Chelsea took control of the game but their possession only carved out half-chances. However, they finally made it count in the 33rd minute. It was a wonderful move from the visitors as Reece James' right-wing cross was flicked onto the crossbar by Olivier Giroud. The ball looked to be going wide as it fizzed past Pedro in the middle, but Alonso was waiting at the back post to smash the ball into the far corner for his second successive Premier League goal.

Chelsea should have added to their tally instantly after the break. Mateo Kovacic picked up a loose ball after a Billing tackle on Mount, and slotted it down the left for Alonso. He then squared it into the middle for the waiting Giroud, but scuffed his shot and sent the ball fizzing past the post.

The visitors were made to pay for their miss when Bournemouth equalised in the 54th minute. Ryan Fraser floated a lovely cross into the area and Lerma was able to easily peel away from his marker, Kovacic, before sending a header past Caballero.

With the decibels rising in the Vitality Stadium and the momentum with them, Bournemouth took the lead 176 seconds later. The impressive Jack Stacey pointed to the open space ahead of him, with Billing obliging by passing the ball to his team-mate's feet. It was a then a wonderful cross through the area from the defender, which King met at the back post to slot home. VAR had a brief look for offside, but there was no case to answer and the goal stood.

Chelsea thought they had equalised in the 73rd minute, but substitute Michy Batshuayi's goal was correctly ruled out for offside. However, they did finally level things up with five minutes to play and it was Alonso to the rescue again.

The visitors had been camped inside the Bournemouth half, although rarely testing Ramsdale, but the Bournemouth goalkeeper showed some great acrobatics to push away an initial volley from Pedro. However, Alonso was lurking at the back post to nod into the back of the net and seal a late point for Chelsea.

Man of the match - Marcos Alonso

Marcos Alonso celebrates with team-mate Pedro after scoring against Bournemouth

Although Chelsea were laboured at times, there is no doubting that Alonso is a player full of confidence, and more importantly, goals. Of course, he scored both of his team's goals but he had seven shots overall - the most in the Chelsea side.

When he wasn't scoring goals, he was an attacking threat down the wing - making four key passes - and should have had an assist to complete his stellar performance. With Tammy Abraham continuing to struggle with injury, Alonso is stepping up to score the goals for Chelsea.

Opta stats

Bournemouth have scored 2+ goals in each of their last three home league games, having netted more than once in just three of their previous 17 at the Vitality Stadium.

Chelsea are winless in four Premier League away games (D3 L1), their longest such run within the same campaign since a run of seven between September-December 2015.

Bournemouth striker Josh King has scored in each of his last three Premier League home games against Chelsea, netting four goals in total. Only against West Ham (5) has he netted more at the Vitality Stadium than he has vs the Blues.

What's next?

Bournemouth facing a daunting task next weekend when they travel to Liverpool on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm). But before that, Jurgen Klopp's side will travel to Chelsea on Tuesday for their FA Cup fifth-round tie with the Blues welcoming Everton to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League next Sunday, live on Sky Sports (kick-off 2pm).

Teams

AFC Bournemouth Ramsdale, Stacey, S. Cook (c), Ake, Smith, L. Cook (Gosling 81), Lerma, Billing, Fraser, C. Wilson, King (Stanislas 68)
Subs Not Used Boruc, Rico, Francis, H. Wilson, Solanke
Booked Smith, C. Wilson
Goals Lerma 54, King 57

Chelsea Caballero, Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Tomori (Willian 64), James, Jorginho (Barkley 64), Kovacic, Alonso, Pedro, Mount, Giroud (Batshuayi 72)
Subs Not Used Kepa, Rudiger, Gilmour, Loftus-Cheek
Booked Jorginho, Christensen
Goals Alonso 33, 85

Attendance 10,667

Referee Andre Marriner