Chelsea and Bournemouth played an exciting Premier League encounter at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Yet the exciting match culminated in a photo-finish level 2-2 tie. For the next 90 minutes, it was a back-and-forth game with both teams constantly switching leads. That exciting conclusion had every fan on the couch biting their nails!
Chelsea opened the match with an all-new starting XI. Key players such as Sanchez, Acheampong, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Estevao, Palmer, Garnacho, and Delap were at the helm. The head coach introduced five changes from their loss against Aston Villa, with Marc Cucurella missing out through injury. On the bench for Chelsea were Adli, Unal, and Smith. Most importantly, they were always prepared to impact the game when their number was called.
Bournemouth’s starting eleven featured Petrovic, Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Tavernier, Scott, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo and Evanilson. The Cherries depth was equally impressive as they had Neto, James, Pedro, Santos, and Gittens on their pine ready to go. Of particular note was Antoine Semenyo, who started despite Manchester City reportedly closing in on a £65 million move for the winger.
The game came to life with Semenyo’s long throw. Captain David Brooks took the chance and tucked it away on his second effort to put Bournemouth ahead early on. Chelsea answered back in clinical fashion, with Enzo Fernandez rifling a long-range effort into the top corner to level the score just moments later.
Tensions rose almost instantly when Chelsea won a penalty. A lengthy VAR review revealed that Semenyo had indeed tripped Estevao in the box. Cole Palmer could hardly have been more cool as he stepped up to the penalty spot. He carefully placed the ball underneath Djordje Petrovic’s leap, bringing Chelsea level yet again.
Though the pace was extremely frenetic and up-and-down, neither team was able to keep a hold on things as the game wore on. Chelsea pressed even harder for a wider margin of victory after Reece James’ arrival on the pitch at the start of the second half. Palmer was withdrawn later for Joao Pedro in an attacking change that made clear the desire to go and get a winning goal.
As the game developed, no team moved the chains with a definitive edge. Exciting as it was, the match ultimately ended in a heart-stopping 2-2 draw. Now both sides look back on their wasted chances and flashes of excellence.
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