Three players who impressed for Chelsea against AFC Bournemouth
Two masterful goals – from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount – inside the opening half-hour were enough for Chelsea to claim all three points against AFC Bournemouth.
The Blues were simply too hot to handle for a despondent Cherries side, on a day where anything but the three points would have been inescapable for Graham Potter, whose team were without a win in five Premier League matches.
All’s well that ends well. Chelsea have finished a topsy-turvy 2022 – characterised by wrinkled transition on and off the pitch – with a commanding win.
Six weeks without competitive football, most players heading to the World Cup (with a couple of them enjoying an extended break), and several injuries did not deter Chelsea from bouncing back.
They outplayed the opposition, sealing the game very early on and managing it brilliantly in the dying stages when Bournemouth threw caution to the wind.
There were many noteworthy performances from the Blues players, who stood up to their tasks and orchestrated one of the better league displays under Potter. Therefore, we list three of them who particularly shone for Chelsea.
Kai Havertz
The Chelsea unit often gels better when Kai Havertz is on point. It’s just the kind of roles he’s deployed in. Havertz, as Potter gushed after the game, offers ‘variability’ in terms of how the team attacks.
The German star did just that, dropping deep and switching to his favoured right-side, creating an interlock with Reece James and Raheem Sterling. As one would guess, the majority of the hosts’ dangerous attacks sparked from that flank.
What he’s slowly but impressively adding to his game is the knack of darting between the opponent’s centre-halves. Before his goal, Havertz mistimed a jump and glanced a header off target from a Marc Cucrella pick-out.
Even then, the dexterity to sneak in behind had Potter clapping from the touchline, applauding the move and sustained pressure with bodies in the box.
Moments later, he was there again, drifting away from his marker and sliding to open the scoring for Chelsea. Havertz would then go on to lay it on a platter for Mason Mount to curl home the second of the evening.
And when it mattered, the 23-year-old dug in to win the aerial duels and contribute with four clearances. From his perspective, it’s all about maintaining this level of involvement and tucking goals away as they come.
Thiago Silva
It’s often impossible these days to not credit Thiago Silva when Chelsea win. He’s more than just a leader or a rock at the back. There’s this intonation he performs with inside the box when facing attacks.
If Chelsea were second-rate going forward in the final 45, Thiago Silva was the player of the match for his defending and long-ball creativity.
In a back four today, it was imperative for the Brazilian to be a bit more stretched than he’d have liked at 38. But we mention that number too often, simply because every time he looks about 10 years younger.
Sirike Dembele and Jaidon Anthony’s introduction left Cesar Azpilicueta isolated at times, as Bournemouth flung crosses from the left, only to be beaten in the air by the brilliant Thiago Silva.
No player had more touches, long passes, and clearances than Thiago Silva. As always, Chelsea’s artiste fantastique at the back was the reason for their complete dominance of Bournemouth from back to front.
Raheem Sterling
Chelsea were smooth in transition, safe and accurate with their passing, and sharp on all fronts, albeit not all junctures of the game were as comfortable for the Blues.
Enter Raheem Sterling to the rescue. The Englishman was tricky with his feet on the right-hand side, weaving an almost unstoppable combination and exchange of passes with the returning Reece James.
Courtesy of no one picking up Jorginho, Chelsea cut through the Bournemouth midfield with simple breakaway passes. Mount, a specialist in occupying pockets of spaces outside the 18-yard box, played a simple pass for Sterling for the first goal.
The latter then squared a lovely pass for Havertz to end Chelsea’s mini-goal scoring drought. Sterling continued to excel on that side with his flamboyance, also testing Mark Travers once.
We all know he wants to score goals, but Sterling rightfully deserved a standing ovation from the home supporters.
Honourable mentions: Mason Mount, Jorginho, Denis Zakaria
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Ank Kumar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.