Chelsea 0-3 Bournemouth

Callum WilsonImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Callum Wilson's goal was his fourth in seven matches for Bournemouth

Bournemouth's three-goal victory at defending champions Chelsea is their "best result" in the Premier League, says manager Eddie Howe.

Second-half goals from Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Nathan Ake secured the Cherries' first away win in seven league matches as Chelsea suffered their joint-heaviest loss of the season.

This is Bournemouth's third top-flight campaign - they beat Chelsea and Manchester United in 2015-16, Liverpool and Leicester in 2016-17 and Arsenal earlier this month.

Howe has been managing the club since October 2012, his second spell in charge after a stint from 2009-2011 during which they were in the third and fourth tiers.

"That has to be our best result and the best performance in getting the result," said the 40-year-old Englishman.

"We were very aggressive and everyone was magnificent. Our aggressiveness, work-rate and endeavour - it all came together.

"Although it was a game of few chances, we deserved the victory and scored some great goals. We had to be at our best."

Wilson put the visitors ahead when he benefited from Tiemoue Bakayoko losing possession and exchanged passes with Jordon Ibe before finishing past Thibaut Courtois.

Wilson set up Stanislas for the second goal, before Stanislas' shot was turned in by Ake from close range as Bournemouth gained only their third win over Chelsea.

The Cherries move up to 10th while Antonio Conte's side, who signed striker Oliver Giroud from Arsenal for £18m earlier on Wednesday, drop to fourth.

Media caption,

Howe delight after 'best' Bournemouth win

Brilliant Bournemouth pounce on Chelsea's weak defence

Bournemouth, who had not won away since a 1-0 victory at Newcastle on 4 November, deserved their win, punishing a Chelsea side that were unusually poor in defence to pull off one of the shock results of the season.

A mistake from Bakayoko enabled Wilson to score his seventh Premier League goal of the season, and the Cherries nearly doubled their lead two minutes later when Lewis Cook shot just wide.

Chelsea had kept clean sheets in five of their past seven games, but there was no sign of that organisation when Wilson slid a pass through the middle of the home defence - with both Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill out of position - and Stanislas doubled the lead.

Just three minutes later it was 3-0 as Stanislas was given space to shoot and Ake reacted fastest to divert the ball into the net.

The result matched Chelsea's defeat at Roma in the Champions League on 31 October, and was also the joint-heaviest defeat of Conte's two-and-a-half-year spell in charge.

Chelsea show their need for Giroud

Image source, AFP
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Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud (front) and defender Emerson Palmieri, who joined from Roma in a £17.6m move, were introduced to the crowd at half-time

The game came only a few hours after Giroud had moved from Arsenal, while Chelsea loaned Michy Batshuayi to Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season.

However, Giroud's move was not completed in time for him to play, and with Alvaro Morata and Willian both injured, Conte went with a makeshift front three of Pedro, Eden Hazard and Ross Barkley.

It did not prove to be a successful selection - Chelsea did not have a shot on target in the first half and the ineffective Barkley, making his first Premier League appearance since a £15m move from Everton, was substituted after 54 minutes.

Hazard, a constant threat, was at the heart of most of the hosts' attacking moves and they enjoyed a good spell just before half-time as Cahill and Marcos Alonso both headed narrowly off target.

Hazard and Pedro forced saves from Asmir Begovic in the second half, and Chelsea appealed in vain for a penalty when Pedro's header hit the arm of Ake at close range.

But the lack of a recognised striker was clear, with Conte later saying: "I didn't see a centre-forward today."

He will hope Giroud will make the difference. During his five-and-a-half-year spell at Arsenal, the 31-year-old France international scored 105 goals in 253 games, but he has started only one league game in 2017-18.

Diego Costa has been Chelsea's top goalscorer in the past three seasons, including their title wins in 2014-15 and 2016-17, but he returned to Atletico Madrid after Conte told him he had no future at the club.

Morata, his replacement, started impressively with seven goals in his first eight games, but has only managed five in his 23 appearances since, leading Conte to bring in reinforcements.

Image source, Michael Owen
Image caption,

Former England striker Michael Owen thinks Chelsea have improved their attacking options

Chelsea's unbeaten league run ends abruptly - the stats

  • Bournemouth scored three goals in a Premier League away game against a 'top six' opponent for the first time.

  • Chelsea had won seven of their previous eight home league matches before this.

  • Chelsea's loss was their first in nine league games (won five, drew three, lost one).

  • Chelsea had only conceded one goal in their previous seven home league fixtures.

  • Bournemouth have gone six league games without defeat since Christmas.

  • Bournemouth have beaten the reigning champions in each of the past three seasons: 1-0 at Chelsea in 2015-16, 1-0 at home to Leicester City in 2016-17 and this victory.

  • At 17 years and 84 days old, Callum Hudson-Odoi became the second-youngest player to make his debut for Chelsea in the Premier League, after Jody Morris in February 1996 (17 years 43 days v Middlesbrough).

Man of the match - Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

Callum Wilson was a constant threat to the Chelsea defence and scored one goal and made another

'Bournemouth deserved the win' - what they said

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Conte admits Chelsea 'struggled' on 'bad day'

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "They deserved to win the game. We tried to do something but it was very difficult for us, even in the first half when the score was 0-0, we struggled a lot.

"[We struggled] for many reasons, but it's not important to speak about excuses, they deserve to win and we need to restart to work and to do our best. We have to accept it's a bad result and understand that we have to fight this season, if someone didn't understand this they don't understand football. Football is not simple."

On losing Andreas Christensen [who suffered a hamstring injury in the first half]: "I don't think this affected the defence or the team, in other circumstances we play in the same way and win, I repeat today is a bad day, they deserve to win and we have to accept the result and bad mistakes."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It was a game of few chances but we deserved the scoreline in the end. We were desperate for a clean sheet, the last few stages were difficult to watch as the lads tired and we just wanted to get those three points and secure the clean sheet.

"It's not a statement to other teams as such but more for ourselves, we've beaten Arsenal and Chelsea recently so if we needed any more belief then that has to come now."

What's next?

Bournemouth are back in Premier League action on Saturday, 3 February with a home game against Stoke (15:00 GMT).

Olivier Giroud and Emerson Palmieri could make their Chelsea debuts on Monday, 5 February (20:00 GMT) when Conte's side take on Watford at Vicarage Road.

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