Chelsea were put to the sword by an impressive Bournemouth side, losing 3-0 to the Cherries at Stamford Bridge last night. Antonio Conte’s side were poor and deservedly beat by Eddie Howe’s team, with Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Nathan Ake all scoring for Bournemouth. Here’s who impressed (albeit slightly) in Tuesday night’s defeat to Bournemouth:
3. N’Golo Kante
Often known for his defensive capabilities, Kante made a number of surging runs forward last night in an attempt to bring Chelsea back into the game. Running forward and getting past players with ease, the Frenchman was highly impressive going forward, and couldn’t really have made much difference as Bournemouth netted three times. Perhaps the only negative thing to say about Kante is his lack of shooting. If he pulled the trigger, he might’ve been able to force a save out of Begovic, or even add to his goal tally.
2. Callum Hudson-Odoi
After making his first team debut at the weekend against Newcastle, Hudson-Odoi made his Premier League debut for the club last night. Replacing Davide Zappacosta after 65 minutes, the youngster looked very impressive when coming on. Ran at defenders, and looked very skilful when attacking. Produced a number of shots, but not enough to really test Asmir Begovic’s goal. A great start to life in the first team for Hudson-Odoi, hopefully the first of many first team appearances.
1. Eden Hazard
In an ultimately disappointing night for Chelsea, there were not many bright lights in the starting line up. One to make a positive impact on the game was Hazard. Full of energy from the start, the Belgian made a number of runs forward and gave the Bournemouth defence a lot to think about. Although he didn’t test the Bournemouth goal as much as he would’ve liked, his runs forward showed that the opportunities were there. Perhaps the lack of a striker meant Hazard had nobody to find in the box. Olivier Giroud, your time is now.