Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth

Chelsea and AFC Bournemouth played out an enthralling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, with all four goals being scored inside the opening 27 minutes.

Bournemouth captain David Brooks bundled his side into an early lead, only for Cole Palmer’s 15th-minute penalty to restore parity for the hosts after Antoine Semenyo’s foul on Estevao.

On the occasion of his 100th Premier League appearance, Enzo Fernandez collected Alejandro Garnacho’s pass before picking out the top-right corner in style to put Chelsea in front.

However, Bournemouth hauled themselves level when an unmarked Justin Kluivert finished at the back post. Neither side were able to find a winner after the break.

A draw meant Chelsea missed the chance to leapfrog Liverpool into fourth place, while Bournemouth remain 15th after their winless league run was extended to 10 matches, despite putting in an impressive performance. This was the Cherries' fourth draw in their last five matches.

How the match unfolded

The match sparked into life with just six minutes on the clock when a long throw by Semenyo saw Brooks' header saved by Robert Sanchez, only for the rebound to fall back to the Bournemouth midfielder, who squeezed the ball over the line.

However, the visitors’ joy was short-lived when Semenyo tripped a surging Estevao inside the penalty area. The spot-kick was awarded following a VAR review, allowing Palmer to step up and coolly dispatch past former Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

And Chelsea got themselves ahead when Fernandez marked his milestone outing with a sensational shot in the 23rd minute, only for Kluivert to tap in four minutes later after the Blues failed to deal with another Semenyo throw-in.

A chaotic game eventually settled after the break, as Chelsea established more control. The home side looked the most likely to score, with the lively Estevao seeing a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area sting the palms of Petrovic just after the hour mark.

Fernandez then spurned a glorious chance to grab all three points for Chelsea 13 minutes from time, but he could only curl over the crossbar, while there was almost a sting in the tail as Bournemouth substitute Enes Unal fired off target from a presentable opening in stoppage time.

Chelsea changes provide more questions than answers

After Ollie Watkins’ double helped Aston Villa to a comeback 2-1 win over Chelsea, Maresca made five changes to that team for the visit of Bournemouth, with the goalscorer from that game, Joao Pedro, captain Reece James and Pedro Neto all dropping down to the bench.

That offered the likes of Joshua Acheampong, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Estevao and Liam Delap the chance to impress, though of those players it was only Chelsea’s young Brazilian star who had a notable impact on proceedings and the Blues looked wide open defensively for much of the first half.

But Enzo Maresca, seemingly unhappy with his team’s performance, turned to his bench at the break and introduced Neto and James into the action, with Joao Pedro also brought on in the 63rd minute in place of Palmer, an alteration that prompted some jeers at Stamford Bridge.

But the home fans were kept on the edge of their seats by the brilliant Estevao, who proved a tricky customer for both Adrien Truffert and Alex Jimenez to handle, but even with his impactful display and a more controlled second-half performance after Maresca’s tweaks, Chelsea could not find a way through.

The last match between these two sides was a drab 0-0 draw just over three weeks ago, so this match was quite the contrast, but it is still now three games without a league win for the Blues, and one win from seven when stretching further back.

That means the pressure is on before a daunting trip to play Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on 4 January.

The talk leading up to the contest surrounded the future of Semenyo, who is reportedly edging closer to a January switch to Man City, and the in-form Cherries winger endured a mixed match here.

Known for his trickery and precision with his feet, Semenyo also showed the quality with the ball in his hands, with his two long throws causing confusion in the Chelsea penalty area, allowing both Brooks and Kluivert to profit, with both goalscorers among the players brought back into the team for this one.

However, he was involved in a big incident at the other end when tangling with Estevao inside the box, with lapses in concentration like that frustrating Andoni Iraola, whose side did not translate their early dominance into a half-time lead.

In the first half, Bournemouth had 14 shots, their most ever in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League away game, with Brooks – having already scored his first top-flight goal since January – seeing a glorious chance saved when he was played in one-on-one with Sanchez shortly after Palmer’s leveller.

As Chelsea established more control, Bournemouth put on the brakes and appeared willing to settle for a point, with Truffert’s blocked attempt and Semenyo’s blazed shot within three minutes of the second half getting under way representing their only efforts at goal until Unal fired over from Junior Kroupi’s cross late on in what was a golden chance to claim the points.

A vastly improved display from the heavy defeat to Brentford will give Bournemouth hope, but their bid to return to winning ways does not get any easier, with the Cherries’ first game of 2026 seeing them welcome title chasers Arsenal to Vitality Stadium on 3 January. 

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Acheampong (James h-t), Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto; Fernandez (c), Caicedo; Estevao (Gittens 90+2), Palmer (Joao Pedro 63), Garnacho (Neto h-t); Delap (Santos 87)
Unused subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Buonanotte
Scorers: Palmer pen 16, Fernandez 23
Booked: Caicedo 4

Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Brooks (c) (Adli 78), Scott; Kluivert (Smith 90+2), Tavernier, Semenyo; Evanilson (Unal 82)
Unused subs: Dennis, Diakite, Araujo, Soler, Rees-Dottin, Kroupi
Scorers: Brooks 6, Kluivert 27
Booked: Tavernier 84

Referee: Sam Barrott