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Enzo Maresca was roundly booed after taking off Cole Palmer amid Chelsea's
ultimately fruitless search for a winner in their chaotic 2-2 draw with
Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues should have won the battle between two of the Premier League's most
out-of-form teams but were made to pay for some shoddy first-half defending,
with both the result and fan reaction only heightening the pressure on the
Chelsea boss.
Bournemouth arrived at Stamford Bridge without a win in nine but took an early
lead when Antoine Semenyo's long throw was bundled in at the second attempt by
captain David Brooks.
Both sides threatened with seemingly every attack but struggled defensively
throughout the first period but it was a gift of a goal which brought Chelsea
level.
Semenyo, perhaps in his final game for the Cherries as a £65m move to Man City
edges closer, was penalised by a VAR review for a trip on Estevao inside his own
box - and Cole Palmer squeezed the resulting penalty under Djordje Petrovic's
dive.
Player ratings:
Chelsea: Sanchez (6), Acheampong (5), Fofana (7), Chalobah (6),
Gusto (6), Caicedo (6), Fernandez (7), Estevao (7), Palmer (7), Garnacho (5),
Delap (5).
Subs: Neto (6), James (7), Pedro (6), Santos, Gittens (n/a).
Bournemouth: Petrovic (6), Jimenez (6), Hill (6), Senesi (6),
Truffert (7), Tavernier (6), Scott (5), Brooks (8), Kluivert (7), Semenyo (6),
Evanilson (6).
Subs: Adli (6), Unal, Smith (n/a).
Player of the Match: David Brooks.
The turnaround was complete with less than 23 minutes played when Enzo Fernandez
evaded the attention of Alex Scott before rifling an effort into the top corner
in a breathless opening quarter of the game.
It would continue as Semenyo caused more problems from long throws with
Alejandro Garnacho, who had switched off for the first goal, guilty of allowing
Evanilson the run on him to level at the back post four minutes later.
Few could take issue with captain Reece James' introduction at half-time as
Chelsea battled for greater control, but Palmer's withdrawal for Joao Pedro with
half an hour left to find a winner earned Maresca loud cat calls and ultimately
did little to aid their cause.
Estevao's effort moments after that change would prove their only shot on target
of the second period as the Blues' own poor run was extended to one win in their
last seven games.
That left the hosts, and their beleaguered manager, subjected to more inevitable
jeers at full-time - and Semenyo waving goodbye to the Bournemouth fans, perhaps
for the final time.
Caballero: We need to manage Palmer's minutes
Chelsea coach Willy Caballero, standing in for the 'unwell' Enzo Maresca, on
boos following Cole Palmer's substitution:
"Of course, any supporter wants to have their best players on the pitch and we
want to have the best players on the pitch as well.
"But Cole is coming back from a long injury, in this case we need to also take
the way to find the right substitutions to go for the game, and also to keep our
players healthy because we want to have them for the rest of the season."
Iraola: Not Semenyo's final game for us
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola:
"It's not his last game here with us. I cannot say a hundred per cent but I
think he will play.
"He has to recover, we've played two difficult games in three days. We have
Arsenal at home, we get ready for another one, a demanding game against the
leaders. Definitely he's going to be an important player for us."
Teams
Chelsea Sanchez, Acheampong (James 46), Fofana, Chalobah,
Gusto, Fernandez (c), Caicedo, Estevao (Gittens 90+2), Palmer (Joao Pedro 63),
Garnacho (Neto 46), Delap (Santos 87)
Subs Not Used Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Buonanotte
Booked Caicedo
Goals Palmer 15 (pen), Fernandez 23
AFC Bournemouth Petrovic, Truffert, Senesi, Scott, Hill, Brooks
(c) (Adli 78), Tavernier, Semenyo, Kluvert (Smith 90+2), Jimenez, Evanilson
(Unal 82)
Subs Not Used Dennis, Diakite, Araujo, Soler, Kroupi,
Rees-Dottin
Booked Tavernier
Goals Brooks 6, Kluivert 27
Attendance
Referee Sam Barrott
VAR Craig Pawson