Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth: Advantage Liverpool in top four race as Blues held in thriller

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Evening Standard

·30 Desember 2025

Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth: Advantage Liverpool in top four race as Blues held in thriller

Blues’ winless run stretches to three games

Chelsea lost ground in the race for the Champions League as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

In a high-octane affair in west London, Enzo Maresca’s side went into the clash three points adrift of Liverpool, with the Blues’ 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa last weekend dealing the west Londoners a real blow as the Reds leapfrogged them into the top four.

Chelsea could not rediscover that winning formula, however, and found themselves behind inside seven minutes as they were caught out by an Antoine Semenyo long throw, which David Brooks met with a header that Robert Sanchez spilled, before the Welshman gobbled up the rebound.

The Blues were level not long after, with Semenyo the guilty party as he felled Estevao in the box. VAR deemed the contact worthy of a penalty, which Cole Palmer tucked away - just about - beyond Djordje Petrovic on the quarter-hour.

Enzo Fernandez slammed home the second as Chelsea turned the game on its head just eight minutes later, arrowing an effort into the top corner to leave Petrovic rooted to the spot.

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However, the hosts were undone once more by the long throw, as Semenyo’s launch into the area on 27 minutes found its way through to Justin Kluivert, who had ghosted in at the far stick to bundle home from the flick-on.

Reece James and Pedro Neto were introduced by Maresca at the interval to instil some calm into a fraught affair, but it was Estevao down the left, switching from the right to accommodate Neto, who injected further adrenaline into the encounter.

Neto was a threat down the right, as he sought out Liam Delap in the middle after excellent feet from Estevao to start up a sweeping move that deserved the finish that the Chelsea centre-forward could not produce.

The Blues continued to knock on the Bournemouth door in the second period, but they could just not find that elusive winner.

The result will feel like two dropped points for the west Londoners, who missed the chance to pile the pressure on Liverpool in the race for the top four.