Chelsea’s were held to a 0-0 draw by Bournemouth on Saturday as their rotten start to life under Mauricio Pochettino continued.
The Blues were wasteful at the Vitality Stadium and have now taken only five points from their opening five games.
The Cherries are still looking for their first win under Andoni Iraola but are at least now unbeaten in their last two games.
How the game unfolded
Chelsea nearly took the lead with little over two minutes on the clock. Nicolas Jackson’s clever back-heel allowed Mykhailo Mudryk to burst with the ball beyond Lloyd Kelly and cross for Conor Gallagher, but his improvised close-range effort was blocked behind.
Another Chelsea opportunity came and went when Gallagher dinks the ball between three Bournemouth defenders for Raheem Sterling to chase, though his cross-cum-shot trickled through the six-yard box and the hosts escaped the immediate danger.
Jackson was next to try his luck after again linking up well with Mudryk, striking against the post with a bobbling shot from 20 yards.
Bournemouth’s first chance saw them catch Chelsea cold with a quick free-kick, with Ryan Christie crossing for Dango Ouattara, but his shot was smothered by Robert Sanchez at the back-post.
The visitors again nearly broke the deadlock after more impressive work from Mudryk, dinking a cross into the feet of Gallagher, who saw a driven shot palmed away by Neto.
Chelsea had the ball in the net just after the restart. Sterling thundered a free-kick off the corner of the post and crossbar before it bounced back across the line into the path of Levi Colwill to tap in, but he was flagged offside and the goal was chalked off.
A failed clearance from Thiago Silva cannoned back off the shins of the onrushing Christie and the ball bounced narrowly wide as Chelsea were let off the hook for some lax defending.
Colwill again went close when he looked to scramble home Jackson’s low cross following a corner, though Neto managed to eventually bundle the ball to safety.
Back down the other end, a low free-kick from Philip Billing was deflected agonisingly wide off the ankles of Gallagher.
Seconds later, Solanke brought a save out of the legs of Sanchez having cut inside past Gallagher to work room for a shot just inside the box.
Substitute Ben Chilwell sought to find a match-winning assist with a wicked cross which bounced off the head of Jackson, with Neto shuffling over his line to claw the ball away.
Neto once more saved Bournemouth when he threw up a strong hand to deny Cole Palmer’s volley from the six-yard line.
Chelsea were unable to find that crucial goal and Pochettino’s winless run away from home in the Premier League has been extended to 14 games.
GK: Neto – 9/10 – Kept Bournemouth in the contest with a string of fine saves.
RB: Max Aarons – 5/10 – Found it hard to keep the pacy Mudryk under wraps.
CB: Illia Zabarnyi – 7/10 – Rock solid to ensure the busy Jackson didn’t have his own way.
CB: Lloyd Kelly – 7/10 – Similarly stubborn and helped Bournemouth play from the back with his excellent passing range.
LB: Milos Kerkez – 4/10 – Roasted by Sterling time after time. A testing experience for the 19-year-old.
CM: Philip Billing – 5/10 – Dropped deeper into midfield having started the season as a number ten, but Chelsea were able to bypass his considerable physical presence with ease. Burst forward to crash the box late on as Bournemouth looked for a winner.
CM: Lewis Cook – 6/10 – Likewise allowed Chelsea to walk through midfield at times. At least he was a little easier on the eye when in possession and put in a shift.
RM: Marcus Tavernier – 4/10 – Faded out of the game for long stretches and his substitution probably should have come sooner.
AM: Ryan Christie – 6/10 – The creator of Bournemouth’s better half-chances. Came to help out in midfield and in the channels when the going got tough.
LM: Dango Ouattara – 5/10 – Didn’t create enough trouble for Gusto. Memorably fired a shot out for a throw-in.
CF: Dominic Solanke – 5/10 – Wasteful with what little he did see of the ball. Pinned down by Disasi for the most part.
Substitutes
SUB: Justin Kluivert (63′ for Ouattara) – 5/10
SUB: Luis Sinisterra (74′ for Tavernier) – 5/10
SUB: Marcos Senesi (74′ for Kerkez) – 5/10
SUB: David Brooks (89′ for Christie) – N/A
Subs not used: Radu (GK), Smith, Rothwell, Traore, Semenyo
Manager
Andoni Iraola – 5/10 – Bournemouth struggled to cope for long stretches and were given a helping hand by Chelsea’s wastefulness.
GK: Robert Sanchez – 7/10 – Called into action sporadically but still had to be alert and was wary of danger.
RB: Malo Gusto – 6/10 – Another comfortable performance in the absence of Reece James, even if not spectacular. Linked up well with Sterling.
CB: Axel Disasi – 7/10 – The only blemish on Disasi’s game was a cynical foul which was inches away from coming inside the penalty area. Otherwise a great outing.
CB: Thiago Silva – 5/10 – Uncomfortable in his duels with the physical Solanke and was probably relieved there weren’t too many of them.
LB: Levi Colwill – 6/10 – Quite obviously not a left-back, though still played pretty well regardless. Untroubled by Bournemouth’s array of fast wingers.
CM: Conor Gallagher – 6/10 – Guilty of spurning glorious chances, though at least had the drive and endeavour to get into those areas.
CM: Lesley Ugochukwu – 6/10 – Didn’t look out of place on his first Premier League start. Considering the chaos there is at Chelsea, that’s quite impressive.
RM: Raheem Sterling – 7/10 – The winger’s rejuvenation continued on the south coast, running rings around Kerkez and panicking Bournemouth.
AM: Enzo Fernandez – 4/10 – Easy to forget that the £105m man was even playing. Unsuited to playing as a number ten and Chelsea desperately needed him to be more involved.
LM: Mykhailo Mudryk – 7/10 – A live-wire throughout his 63 minutes, creating Chelsea’s best chances while on the pitch.
CF: Nicolas Jackson – 4/10 – Social media and compilation makers will not be kind to Jackson, who missed numerous chances and comically fired a shot into the crowd.
Substitutes
SUB: Cole Palmer (63′ for Mudryk) – 5/10
SUB: Ben Chilwell (81′ for Colwill) – 6/10
SUB: Ian Maatsen (81′ for Fernandez) – 5/10
Subs not used: Bergstrom (GK), Petrovic (GK), Gilchrist, Washington, Matos, Stutter
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino – 5/10 – Chelsea still lack cohesion and remain reminiscent of Graham Potter’s team of last season.
Player of the match – Neto (Bournemouth)
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