Jordan Henderson celebrates
Jordan Henderson celebrates scoring his first Chelsea goal(Image: Ryan Pierse)
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Chelsea returned to winning ways against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon with Jordan Henderson inspiring the Blues on his Stamford Bridge debut for the club.
A much-needed win for Chelsea, their first since August 30 in the league, as they thumped the struggling Cherries by five goals to one. Henderson scored either side of half-time, while Joao Pedro also grabbed two and Morgan Rogers also struck in the capital.
It was the perfect start for the hosts, who raced to a 2-0 lead in the west London sunshine. Henderson scored a beautiful goal just over a minute in after being laid off by Cole Palmer, and it was quickly two for Chelsea when Rogers' effort was headed into his own net by Bournemouth defender Antonio Silva. It went down as Rogers' goal and his fourth in a Chelsea shirt.
It was some start from Chelsea; with Henderson's goal coming after one minute and six seconds, and Rogers striking on two minutes and 29 seconds.
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Chelsea then made the perfect start to the second period when Joao Pedro fired past Djordje Petrovic inside 30 seconds of the restart. However, Bournemouth found some hope moments later when Evanilson scored after the Blues failed to clear a corner.
The Blues, though, reclaimed momentum in the match with Joao Pedro scoring his second goal of the game after some excellent work from Pep Chavarria down the left-hand side. Henderson then scored his second, a free-kick from around 25 yards out that found the top corner.
Below, Bobby Vincent has rated the Chelsea players out of 10 based on their performance.
Emiliano Martinez - After just one session back with the team, Martinez kept his place in goal. The goalkeeper made a fine double stop around 35 minutes in, first to deny Rayan and then Ryan Christie. A big moment in the game. Not much to do overall. 7
Josh Acheampong - Got the nod over Wesley Fofana. Composed in possession, and he looked to attack when possible. Solid. 6
Maxence Lacroix - The Frenchman always looked to be on the front foot and nick the ball from the Bournemouth attackers, usually Evanilson. Not his most convincing performance, though, and he was almost caught out, postionally, in the first-half when Martinez made a double save. 6
Levi Colwill - Colwill did better than recent performances. There definitely seemed to be some improvement there. He won a couple of crucial headers. There's still so much more to come from Colwill, but a step in the right direction. 6
Pedro Neto - The Portuguese started at right wing-back once again and did well once again. Neto's resurgence saw him get the better of Silva down the right before the Chelsea winger pulled the ball back to Joao Pedro to make it 3-0. 7
Moises Caicedo - First start of the season in what was a huge boost for the Blues. Simply put, Chelsea look a much more assured team with Caicedo in there - and that is no surprise. It is worth mentioning, however, that Caicedo's clearance hit Evanilson for the Brazilian's goal. It wasn't solely the Ecuadorian's fault but felt like he could have done a bit better, but equally it feels quite harsh to blame him. 6
Jordan Henderson - Kept his place in the midfield after making his debut last time out against Brentford. Alonso's faith was immediately repaid with the Englishman striking in off the post from the edge of the box just over a minute in. The 36-year-old saw so much of the ball, and at times was dictating the pace of the game. Henderson then capped off a wonderful performance with a fantastic free-kick in the second-half. Man of the Match. 9
Chelsea celebrate Jordan Henderson's goal against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea celebrate Jordan Henderson's goal against Bournemouth(Image: Ryan Pierse)
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Pep Chavarria - The Spaniard looks better with each game he gets under his belt. Very good on the ball and switched on in a defensive sense as well. Excellent cross from Chavarria to set up Joao Pedro's second of the game. 8
Cole Palmer - On the day of his contract extension, Palmer played a huge part in the opening goal of the game where he laid off Henderson. Not at his brilliant best, but he didn't need to be. A bit quiet compared to his attacking colleagues, but by no means a bad performance. Really unselfish to let Henderson take the free-kick for the midfielder's second goal. 6
Morgan Rogers - The £117million signing made the perfect start and continued his unbelievable start to the season when he dinked a ball towards the back post - whether it was a shot or a cross, only he will know - before it was headed in by Silva into his own net. Apart from that, he was bright throughout. £117m is a bargain. 8
Joao Pedro - To the relief of FPL fans all across the country, Joao Pedro was named in the starting line-up following his knee injury. The Brazilian didn't disappoint. After a quiet first-half, it didn't take him long to come alive in the second period when the 25-year-old fired the ball into the top corner and made it three for Chelsea. He was at it again on 67 minutes, tapping in from Chavarria's delivery. 9
Marco Palestra (on for Joao Pedro 72') - Great to see him finally make his debut. Bags of energy down the right-hand side. 6
Romeo Lavia (on for Caicedo 72') - Came on and did the job that was required. 6
Estevao Willian (on for Rogers 84') - Supporters would have liked to have seen more. N/A
Danny Welbeck (on for Welbeck 84') - Some more minutes for the 35-year-old. N/A
Malo Gusto (on for Palmer 88') - A few minutes for the Frenchman in the No.10 position. N/A
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