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Substitute Christopher Nkunku scored in the 86th minute to secure Chelsea a 1-0 win over Bournemouth in a match that saw a Premier League record 14 yellow cards on Saturday.
Bournemouth hit the woodwork twice, and Evanilson had a first-half penalty saved by Robert Sanchez.
But Chelsea finished the game strongly and Nkunku, who came on as a substitute in the 79th minute, scored from close range to give the London side their second away win in two games.
Chelsea moved up to seventh place with seven points from four matches, while Bournemouth are in eleventh place with five points.
Michael Steele/Getty Images
Although Enzo Maresca’s side were not entirely convincing, having had their luck in the first half, there were plenty of positives to be taken from the south coast.
The team ended a run of 17 away Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet, and gave a debut to on-loan player Jadon Sancho who impressed as a second-half substitute and showed plenty of resilience.
“We had difficulties in the first half, but we were much better in the second half. We didn’t win many balls in the first half, which is necessary in this type of stadium against this team,” Maresca said.
But Bournemouth paid a heavy price for failing to take their chances.
“We had more of everything, more shots, more corners, but in the end what really matters is scoring and they did that in the end,” said Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola.
A game of numerous chances and simple errors looked set to end in a goalless draw until Sancho, on loan from Manchester United, passed the ball to Nkunku who showed great power to fire past goalkeeper Mark Travers from close range.
A game marred by chances and simple errors looked set to end in a goalless draw until Sancho, on loan from Manchester United, passed the ball to Nkunku who showed great power to fire past goalkeeper Mark Travers from close range.
Sancho’s role in the goal capped an impressive debut for the team, who picked up a Champions League runners-up medal while on loan at Borussia Dortmund last season.
“Jadon is a very good player and he can help us,” Maresca said. “Now I don’t care about all the hype around him. He is very polite with us and trains well on and off the ball.”
Bournemouth dominated the first half better as Marcus Tavernier hit the crossbar from long range in the fourth minute.
Travers denied Nicolas Jackson at the other end but Bournemouth looked set to take the lead when Brazilian Evanilson was brought down by Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez in the 36th minute.
But Sanchez managed to make up for that after reading the penalty kick that Evanilson executed well to maintain the draw in his team’s favor.
Chelsea brought on Sancho in the second half for Pedro Neto and the player showed glimpses of his best form.
But Bournemouth looked more likely to score as Sanchez denied Justin Kluivert before Ryan Christie hit the post.
However, Chelsea weathered the storm and Nkunku sent the visiting fans home happy.
Although referee Anthony Taylor’s yellow card was a busy night, most of the yellow cards were for trivial fouls or players chattering with the referee. Eight Chelsea players were booked.
“I don’t consider this amount of yellow cards a problem for me. This is the situation. Sometimes the game requires a certain way of acting,” Maresca said.
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