Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Key Takeaways for the Blues in Victory
By Abdul Abdullahi
Enzo Maresca isn’t afraid to make changes
This isn’t the first time Maresca has made an early substitution at halftime. Jadon Sancho came on to make his CFC debut for Pedro Neto, who hadn’t been at his best. If you remember the game against Wolves in GW2, Mykhaylo Mudryk was substituted for, coincidentally, Pedro Neto, who instantly impressed. This time around, it was the loanee Sancho who thrived and won man of the match.
Another great substitution was the introduction of Tosin Adarabioyo for the underperforming Axel Disasi. The former Fulham defender slotted in as the central center-back, shifting Wesley Fofana to the right and Colwill to the left. Adarabioyo’s passing was key to the Blues’ progression up the pitch. He provided leadership, a vocal presence from the back, composure, line-breaking passes, and made several successful tackles, all of which contributed to the club’s first clean sheet of the season.
Still prone to defensive errors
Bournemouth may feel hard done by not having the ball in the back of the net at least once, if it weren’t for a masterclass from both ‘Rob’ Sanchez and Levi Colwill. Particularly in the first half, Bournemouth had double the number of shots and more than three times the shots on target compared to Chelsea, including a penalty saved by the Spaniard between the sticks. Disasi wasn’t great at RCB/RB, and Fofana, at times, looked suspect, such as when he played a risky back pass to his keeper that was underhit. Evanilson read the situation well and was fouled by Sanchez, leaving Anthony Taylor no choice but to award a spot kick. Sanchez then saved Fofana’s blushes despite being left high and dry.
It also didn’t stop there – shortly after, as Chelsea’s defenders cautiously passed the ball around their own box, Fofana put Sanchez in another tricky situation, leading to a poor clearance straight to an opposing player. There’s a clear lack of confidence when we play out from the back like that, and much of it stems from Sanchez’s uncertain presence at times. Unfortunately, there aren’t many easy solutions, until Adarabioyo was brought on and calmed things down a bit. Enzo Fernandez and more importantly Romeo Lavia’s presence was also missed with Renato Veiga filling in for them in midfield.