Chelsea's title ambitions were always more realistically viewed through a wider lens than the current campaign, but this recent drop in form has been concerning for Enzo Maresca's side nonetheless.
A creditable draw against table-toppers Arsenal last weekend, preceded a bitter defeat to promoted Leeds United at Elland Road in midweek, and this one marked the perfect chance to bounce back and keep a toe in the early Premier League title race.
Chelsea players vs Bournemouth
Bournemouth stood strong against the Blues on Saturday afternoon, but they also pulled their weight in the final third, recording an xG total of 1.37 compared to the visitors' 0.88.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
There was an undeniable bluntness to Chelsea's attack, with a number of stars flattering to deceive on the south coast.
Chelsea's worst performers at Bournemouth
Robert Sanchez certainly wasn't among Chelsea's worst performers at the Vitality, having made a string of important saves throughout the contest to keep parity intact.
Neither was Moises Caicedo to blame. The Ecuadorian served the second game of his three-match suspension after seeing red against Arsenal, and his absence was keenly felt in the middle of the park.
Enzo Fernandez toiled without his dance partner in the engine room, but he was sloppy on the ball. Likewise, Cole Palmer looked rusty on his return from injury, only creating one chance and wasting a few decent opportunities before being replaced by Joao Pedro before the hour mark.
Cole Palmer for Chelsea
There was another attacking instrument under Maresca's command who struggled to impose himself despite some hustle and bustle, looking like a teammate of his who has been absent for some time.
Maresca must bench Mudryk-esque Chelsea forward
Since leaving Manchester United and joining Chelsea this summer in a deal worth £40m, Alejandro Garnacho has blown hot and cold, scoring two goals and supplying two assists across 14 matches in all competitions. In the Premier League, Maresca has handed the 21-year-old six starts.
Garnacho
Against Bournemouth, though, he was part of a Chelsea side who succumbed to an absence of end product, hitting the woodwork and failing to build on his positive form of recent weeks.
Football.london did hand Garnacho a 6/10 match rating, acknowledging his optimism and energy on the ball, but he left much to be desired all the same, with his end product leading to a sense that he is shaping into the club's next version of Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Mudryk is suspended at the moment, but from a footballing standpoint, his £89m transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk to Stamford Bridge in January 2023 ended up a major misfire from Todd Boehly and co, with the Ukrainian's pace and technical skill unable to be applied with efficiency on English shores.
Having failed with all three of his attempted dribbles and proved unable to even attempt a tackle, the South American left something to be desired, and though he created a chance, he also lost the ball 11 times, and that having only completed 17 passes on the evening.
Alejandro Garnacho vs Bournemouth
Match Stats
Minutes played
Goals
Assists
Touches
Shots (on target)
Accurate passes
Chances created
Crosses
Dribbles
Ball recoveries
Tackles won
Duels won
Data via Sofascore
We already know that Garnacho has a penchant for the spectacular, but he needs to channel his craft and grow into the player he has been touted to be.
In this, he is not too dissimilar to Mudryk, though hopefully he has more opportunities to showcase his skills.
Mudryk and Garnacho share a likeness in that they are both athletic and dynamic wingers, but the latter needs to prove now that Chelsea are going to get bang for their buck, and perhaps a return to the bench might fuel him with the requisite aggression and focus going forward.
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The highly-rated attacker has not impressed so far this season.