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BOURNEMOUTH 0-0 CHELSEA: Blues' player performances rated after Enzo Maresca's side failed to pick up what would have been a crucial three points on the south coast
Chelsea have been held to a goalless draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on a day where Cole Palmer made his first start in more than two months.
It looked like Bournemouth took the lead just three minutes in when Antoine Semenyo beat Robert Sanchez but the VAR deemed Evanilson to be offside in the build up. The Cherries had the better of the opportunities in the first-half, with Chelsea ending the 45 minutes without a shot on target.
In the second period, Bournemouth had a decent opportunity to take the lead through Marcus Tavernier but his shot dragged just wide of the Chelsea post. The Blues started to threaten shortly after and came so close to the opening goal of the game when Alejandro Garnacho headed against the outside of the post on 50 minutes.
Chelsea created a few more chances in the second-half but were unable to find a way beyond former Blues goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. Here is how football.london rated the performances of the Chelsea players:
Robert Sanchez - A good save to deny Semenyo on 36 minutes. Punched the ball plenty from crosses and kept the chance alive for the Cherries. Some smart saves in there, though. 7.
Malo Gusto - Passed it round well when stepping inside. Did a brilliant spin to avoid a challenge in the middle of the pitch that caused a few noises from the crowd. Fantastic sliding challenge to prevent Alex Scott on 68 minutes. 7.
Wesley Fofana - Aggressive when stepping up. Ran forward with the ball a couple of times to try and kickstart a Chelsea attack. Impressive. 6.
Trevoh Chalobah - Like his centre-back colleague, Chalobah read the game well at times, stealing possession on multiple occasions when stepping up. Though there were a couple of sloppy moments from Chalobah, particularly just before the break where a bad touch led to a decent chance for the hosts. 6.
Marc Cucurella - Decent chance to score in the first-half but could not get his header on target. Tidy performance, but nothing extraordinary. 6.
Reece James - Back in the side after being rested in Leeds Looked really strong in there for the Blues. Fantastic sliding challenge to block a goal-bound shot on 57 minutes. 7.
Enzo Fernandez - Looked a tad sloppy in midfield. Almost looks fatigued, which is understandable given the amount of football he has played already this season. 5.
Pedro Neto - Looked bright on the right-hand side. Could have had an assist in the first-half but Marc Cucurella could not guide his header on target. Neto often looked the most likely for Chelsea in an attacking sense. 7.
Cole Palmer - First start since September 20. Dropped deep to find space a lot of the time - and he does that so well. Looked to link up with Liam Delap at every opportunity. Some sloppy, rusty passes, as you would expect. Off just before the hour-mark. 6.
Alejandro Garnacho - Looked bright on the left wing against Adam Smith. Really unfortunate not to open the scoring on 50 minutes with a header that clipped the post. 6.
Liam Delap - Involved in a lot of physical battles before coming off injured on 31 minutes. 4.
Marc Guiu (on for Delap 31') - Got the nod ahead of Joao Pedro. Some really good hold-up play from the Spaniard at times - exactly what Enzo Maresca would have been after. 6.
Joao Pedro (on for Palmer 58') - Came on and slotted in the No.10 role. Quieter than he would have liked. 5.
Estevao Willian (on for Garnacho 77') - Came on a bit too late to make much of an impact. N/A.
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