Chelsea ended their campaign in style by beating Bournemouth 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to be sure of European football next season.

Moises Caicedo opened the scoring after 17 minutes with possibly the goal of the season after the £115m Ecuador international found the back of the net from virtually the halfway line.

Raheem Sterling increased the hosts' advantage three minutes into the second half, only for Bournemouth to immediately pull a goal back when Enes Unal's strike was deflected in off the unfortunate Benoit Badiashile.

As a result, Chelsea ended the season in sixth place after a fifth straight league win for the first time since under Thomas Tuchel in April 2022, and with it a spot in next season's Europa Conference League - although they will play in the Europa League if Man City beat Man Utd in Saturday's FA Cup final - while Andoni Iraola's side finish 12th in the table after a club-record Premier League points haul.

Player ratings

Chelsea: : Petrovic (7), Chalobah (7), Thiago Silva (7), Badiashile (6), Cucurella (7), Caicedo (9), Gallagher (8), Madueke (6), Palmer (7), Sterling (8), Jackson (8)

Subs: Chukwuemeka (6), Nkunku (6), Gusto (6), Casadei (6)

Bournemouth: Neto (6), Aarons (6), Zabarnyi (6), Senesi (6), Kerkez (7), Christie (7), Cook (7), Semenyo (6), Kluivert (6), Tavernier (6), Unal (7)

Subs: Kelly (6), Solanke (6), Ouattara (6), Scott (6), Billing (6)

Player of the match: Moises Caicedo

How Chelsea sealed their place in Europe next season

The Blues headed into their final game of the campaign as one of the Premier League's in-form sides, looking for a fifth straight league win that would confirm their place in Europe next season.

And they started as such, going close twice early on through Nicolas Jackson and then Cole Palmer, before taking a deserved lead in spectacular style just past the quarter-hour mark.

There appeared little danger when Neto came racing off his line to get to Jackson's through ball just before Raheem Sterling, only for the goalkeeper's weak clearance, under pressure from Conor Gallagher, to be deposited back over his head by Caicedo just inside his own half for his first-ever goal for the club.

The home side doubled their lead at the start of the second period when Palmer released Sterling down the left and the England forward then powered forward before driving a weak shot through Neto at his near post.

Back came Bournemouth, however, as the second half began in frantic fashion with two goals in two minutes, albeit Unal's strike on goal did take a crucial deflection off Badiashile on its way past a stranded Djordje Petrovic.

Both teams went close to adding to the scoreline in the final quarter, with substitute Dominic Solanke's low drive flashing inches past the far post with 10 minutes remaining, before the former Chelsea striker somehow blazed over late on with the goal at his mercy.

All that was left then was for a standing ovation for Palmer as he left the field late on, with the Premier League Young Player of the Year having been involved in his Premier League-high 33rd goal involvement of the season, including 22 goals, in setting up Sterling's winner.

In-form Blues end campaign in style - Opta stats

- Chelsea have won five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since March 2022 under Tomas Tuchel - they last enjoyed a longer such run in the competition in November 2020 (run of six under Frank Lampard).

- Despite losing three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since October 2023, Bournemouth finished in 12th place on 48 points, their best points tally in a top-flight campaign. Meanwhile, only in 2016-17 have the Cherries ever finished higher in the competition (9th).

- Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino won his 150th match in the Premier League (19 with Southampton, 113 with Tottenham and 18 with Chelsea). It is the seventh fastest that a manager has reached this milestone in the competition (294 games).

When does the 2024/25 Premier League season start?

The 2023/24 season has reached its conclusion but planning has already started for the new campaign.

Several Premier League sides have confirmed pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2024/25 term, which kicks off on the weekend of August 17/18, while others have given fresh kits an early airing.

The Premier League fixtures - all 380 of them - will be released at 9am on Tuesday, June 18, with full coverage on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports' digital platforms.

The new EFL season starts on the weekend of August 10/11 and marks the launch of Sky Sports+, giving more choice to sports fans via live streams and a new dedicated channel, at no extra cost. In a broadcasting first, every EFL game across all three divisions - the Championship, League One and League Two - will be streamed live on the opening weekend.

Stand by for another busy summer in the transfer window - clubs can do business from June 14 until August 30 and the Sky Sports Transfer Centre will keep you posted with all the latest news and rumours.

Euro 2024 is just weeks away, too. Keep track of England's Euro fixtures, check out the full tournament schedule in Germany and join us on skysports.com or the Sky Sports app to follow every game with our live match blogs.

Click Here for Official Teamsheet

Teams

Chelsea Petrovic; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo (Ugochukwu 64), Gallagher (c); Madueke (Nkunku 64), Palmer (Casadei 89), Sterling (Gusto 64); Jackson
Subs Not Used Bettinelli, Disasi, Colwill, Gilchrist, Chukwuemeka
Booked Cucurella, Gusto
Goals Caicedo 17, Sterling 48

AFC Bournemouth Neto (c), Kerkez, Senesi (Kelly 84), Zabarnyi, Aarons (Scott 70), Cook, Christie, Tavernier (Quattara 59), Kluivert (Solanke 59), Semenyo, Unal (Billing 69)
Subs Not Used Travers, Smith, Hill, Faivre
Booked Semenyo, Kerkez, Senesi
Goals Badiashile 49 (og)

Attendance 39,724

Referee Anthony Taylor

VAR Rob Jones