Chelsea's dismal run of form continued as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth.
Bournemouth opened the scoring after just six minutes when a long throw from Antoine Semenyo was put home by David Brooks to score his first goal in 360 days. However, Chelsea equalised shortly after through Cole Palmer, who kept his cool from the penalty spot.
Eight minutes later, the home side took the lead when Alejandro Garnacho picked out Enzo Fernandez in the middle as the Argentina international curled the ball into the top corner. But the Cherries soon found themselves back on level terms through Justin Kluivert, sneaking in at the backpost from another long throw.
The Blues dominated in the second half and had plenty of chances to take the lead, with their best chance coming from Estevao, but the winger was denied by the goalkeeper. Meanwhile, Bournemouth almost stole all three points in added time against the run of play, but substitute Enes Unal missed the target.
The result means it's just one win from seven for the Blues as they fall further behind in the top four race, whilst, despite a good point on the road, Bournemouth's winless run extends to ten matches.
Story of the Match
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca rotated heavily from his side's defeat to Aston Villa by reshuffling the backline. Trevoh Chalobah retained his place and was joined by Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto at the back. Brazilian youngster Estevao returned to the starting eleven in place ofPedro Neto, whilstLiam Delap led the line ahead ofJoao Pedro.
Meanwhile, for Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola made four changes from their 4-1 defeat at Brentford. Adam Smith made way for David Brooks as Alex Jimenez slotted in at right-back, whilst centre-back James Hill came in for Bafode Diakite. Elsewhere, Lewis Cook was ruled out through injury and replaced by Justin Kluivert, with Evanilson starting up front in place of Junior Kroupi.
The visitors made a good start to the game and broke the deadlock with just six minutes on the clock. Antoine Semenyo launched a long throw into the penalty area, which was headed on into the path of Brooks, whose header was parried by Robert Sanchez, with the Welshman on hand to poke home the rebound.
Meanwhile, up the other end, Chelsea were awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR review after Estevao weaved his way into the area before being tripped over by Semenyo. Cole Palmer stepped up and picked out the bottom left corner to level proceedings.
However, just minutes after conceding, Bournemouth almost retook the lead when Kluivert latched onto a defensive error before passing to Evanilson, who then played through Brooks as his shot was kept out by Sanchez.
The home side soon started to regain control and took the lead midway through the first half. Enzo Fernández played the ball out wide to Alejandro Garnacho before picking out his fellow countryman in the middle, who rifled the ball into the top corner.
But the Cherries continued to threaten and came close to levelling once more when a short corner fell to Brooks on the edge of the area, who saw his shot blocked before the rebound was volleyed over by Marcus Tavernier.
However, Bournemouth soon found themselves level after another long throw-in from Semenyo was headed towards Kluivert at the backpost, who poked home from close range. Chelsea then threatened a third but Malo Gusto curled the ball miles over the bar whilst Jimenez fired wide for the away side.
Both sides continued to create chances as a Garnacho cross was headed wide by Estevao, whilst late in the half, Brooks crossed towards Semenyo, whose flick on was saved by the goalkeeper.
Ahead of the second half, Maresca called to his bench by introducing Pedro Neto and Reece James in place of Garnacho and Acheampong, respectively. The first chance of the half came from Chelsea from a counterattack as Estevao broke forward, resulting in Neto crossing to Delap, who mistimed his header.
Maresca's side had the lion's share of possession as Estevao shrugged off the challenge of Tavernier before attempting to pick out Delap in the middle, but Marcos Senesi was on hand to make a key interception.
The Brazilian then came close to giving Chelsea the lead when his powerful drive was kept out by former Blues shot stopper Djordje Petrovic. The home side continued to push for the fifth goal of the match as Neto's corner was headed on by Fofana, but Petrovic was able to make the stop.
Another chance then went begging for the hosts as Neto's cross was cleared by Evanilson and into the path of Fernandez, who could only fire over the bar. Chelsea continued to dominate but struggled to break through the Bournemouth defence.
However, in stoppage time, the Cherries almost scored the winning goal when Amine Adli set up Enes Unal, who fired off-target. But despite the constant pressure from Chelsea, they failed to find the winning goal.