Sports editorial, Dec 30 (EFE).- Chelsea, despite leading an electric duel with goals from Cole Palmer and the Argentine Enzo Fernández, failed again, this time against Bournemouth (2-2), and ended 2025 with an insufficient draw in their aspirations to settle in fourth place in the Premier League and to maintain an already almost impossible dream of fighting for the title.
Electric match at Stamford Bridge, back and forth between two teams in need of points. Chelsea, after a draw and a defeat with which they took a giant step back in the fight for first place; and Bournemouth, in great need, increasingly closer to relegation, after nine games without a win before the opening whistle.
There was no truce of any kind. Both Enzo Maresca’s men and Andoni Iraola’s men decided to openly attack the opponent. They generated a duel of spaces, fast, exciting, back and forth and full of chances that soon gave away a goal, exactly six minutes in, when David Brooks took advantage of the London team’s defensive deficiencies.
Specifically, in a play in which the Chelsea defense, and with special mention to the Argentine Alejandro Garnacho, broke down. Brooks hit the target after a throw-in that entered the area and ended up on his head. Robert Sánchez stopped the shot, but the rebound was picked up by the Bournemouth striker, who met the Spanish goalkeeper again on a second attempt. On the third, before the impassive gaze of his marker, Garnacho, he sent the ball into the net.
Chelsea, far from collapsing, went for the tie and soon got their reward thanks to an electric appearance by Estevao, who was brought down by Semenyo inside the area. The VAR called the referee Sam Barrott and, after seeing the images, he declared a maximum penalty that Cole Parmer converted with a shot that Dorde Petrovic guessed unsuccessfully.
Chelsea’s goal did not create a clear dominator. It neither sank some nor concretized the superiority of others. The clash continued at its pace, with chances for both sides that generated heroics such as that of Robert Sánchez, who pulled out an impossible gauntlet to a point-blank shot by Brooks in a one-on-one that preceded the success of Enzo Fernández.
The Argentine midfielder scored a great goal from a top-level center forward out of his hat. He received a pass from Garnacho inside the area and escaped from Alex Scott with a feint without the ball that Didier Drogba himself could have signed; He culminated his ingenious movement with a shot to the top corner with which Chelsea turned the score around.
But the clash, as it was back and forth, immediately had its answer, because Bournemouth, on the stroke of half an hour, tied with another timid defense of its rivals on another throw-in by Semenyo that Trevoh Chalobah extended into his own area and that Justin Kluivert finished almost under the line.
The Dutch attacker’s shot practically closed an electric first half. Chelsea and Bournemouth took their foot off the accelerator a little to step on it again from the first moment of the second act. The train crash returned again, but it only lasted a few minutes, because the London team took full control of the crash.
With Estevao leading the offensive operations, Maresca’s team went for victory. The Brazilian was a real headache on his side, but the chances, except for a shot by Enzo Fernández, did not end up materializing on the ‘blue’ side.
The minutes went by, the clock weighed like a stone, even Enes Ünal was able to score in added time and, finally, Chelsea was left with one point clearly insufficient to end the year with a draw that could even move them away from fourth place if Liverpool defeat Leeds United.
— Technical sheet:
2.- Chelsea: Robert Sanchez; Acheampong (James, min. 46), Chalobah, Fofana, Gusto; Estevao (Gittens, min. 93), Caicedi, Enzo Fernández, Garnacho (Neto, min. 46); Palmer (Joao Pedro, min. 63) y Delap (Andrey Santos, min. 93).
2.- Bournemouth: Petrovic; Jimén, Hill, Celssia, Truffert; Tavernier, Scott; Brooks (Adli, min. 78), Cluitrell (Smith, min. 93), Semenyo; and Evanilson (Ennes, mine. 82).
Goals: 0-1, min. 6: Brooks; 1-1, min. 15: Palmer, penalty; 2-1, min. 23: Enzo Fernández; 2-2, min. 27: Kluivert.
Referee: Sam Barrott. He showed a yellow card to Caicedo (min. 4) for Chelsea and Tavernier (min. 93) for Bournemouth.
Incidents: match corresponding to the nineteenth round of the Premier League, played at Stamford Bridge in front of nearly 38,000 spectators. EFE
(c) EFE Agency
