Chelsea recorder their 12th successive Premier League victory in a very fashioned way, rocking Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side 3-0 on today’s Boxing Day special at Stamford Bridge.
Despite the absence of Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante the job was more than well done, as stunning attacking showdown from Pedro and Hazard was too much for the visitors defence to sustain. Brilliant defence all the way from the goalkeeper to the wing-backs was simply a cherry on top of the cake and there wasn’t much that the Blues could’ve done better today.
The Belgian winger scored a perfect ten with his flying performance, and the rest of the team wasn’t too bad either! See below for the rest of the ratings…
Starting Eleven:
Thibaut Courtois – 8 – A few great stops to keep his clean-sheet run going. His save to deny Afobe on the second half really made him a big part of the victory.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 8 – Rocking performance. Wasn’t gone through for more than once during the whole ninety minutes and even that was covered by Luiz right after. Was also a good help in attack when building the game.
David Luiz – 8 – Rocking performance x2. Brilliant work at the back, coming to rescue with a few lovely sliding tackles and strong clearances. So confident on and off the ball at the moment.
Gary Cahill – 8 – Rocking performance x3. A few fantastic sliding tackles and stops while leading the defence in a very captain-ish fashion!
Victor Moses – 8 – Great game all-around from him! Even seemed to have done part of Kante’s job in midfield, as he traveled some good kilometres today. Had a few good chances to take a shot on goal on the second half but preferred to be remembered from his defensive performance today.
Nemanja Matic – 7 – Good, solid, stable performance from the Serbian. Had no troubles in midfield to play a slightly more defensive role due to Kante’s absence. Almost broke into the Cherries box early on but didn’t have the needed pace to surprise the fans.
Cesc Fabregas – 7 – Took his chance brilliantly, assisting Pedro’s opening goal and playing some inch-perfect passes forward. Rarely puts a foot wrong and it’s great to see him start time to time!
Marcos Alonso – 7 – Wasn’t as much involved in the attacking play as in the recent games – perhaps due to Kante’s absence – but was solid at the back.
Willian – 6 – Didn’t really fit into the Blues front-three today. Made the most sprints of all players today but couldn’t take his chances when he should’ve. Will probably remain in the starting line-up against Stoke following Pedro’s suspension. Replaced by Chalobah on the 82nd minute.
Pedro – 9 – Amazing goal to open the scoring with his curling left-footed effort. Was a vital part of the attacking-trio and seemed to fit quite well into the false-nine role, where he and Hazard kept switching time after time. Poor from him to get booked, as he will be suspended from the next game against Stoke City. Crowned his performance with a lovely solo counter-attacking goal seconds before full-time.
Eden Hazard – 10 – MOTM – Sublime performance. Went flying past the Bournemouth defenders from minute one, winning himself a penalty on the second half which he placed brilliantly into the bottom right corner to put Chelsea 2-0 ahead. Was also close to a long-range rabona goal earlier in the first half. Absolute wonders from the Belgian and magnificent passes as well to set up his team-mates, deservedly today’s man of the match.
Subs:
Nathaniel Chalobah – 6 – Got a narrow ten minute outing and did well to calm down the tempo in midfield. Might start against Peterborough on the upcoming FA Cup fixture. Still no signs of Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Ola Aina – N/A – Instead of the traditional, late Ivanovic sub, Ola Aina came on for the last five minutes of the game. Did a few good clearances at the end.
Michy Batshuayi – N/A – Came on on the injury time – for about ten seconds – but it’s fair to say that his services weren’t needed today, and Conte may have done the better call to leave the Belgian on the bench and put Pedro and Hazard upfront. Of course, it would’ve been nice to see him come on earlier.
