FOOTBALL – Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea in the Premier League last night, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Two goals from long throws and jittery defending proved Chelsea’s undoing and they failed to climb back into the top four in the standings with one win in their last seven games.
It took six minutes for Bournemouth to shock the home side when David Brooks knocked in a shot that had ricocheted off home goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a long throw.
Cole Palmer stepped up to equalise from the spot in the 15th minute after a delayed VAR check for a foul in the box on Estevao by Antoine Semenyo.
Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a sidestep and bullet shot eight minutes later as the action ran end-to-end with chances for Liam Delap and Estevao at one end and Marcus Tavernier and Brooks at the other.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, knocking home a miscued header from Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah after another Semenyo throw.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana said his side had tried to give everything.
“But when you concede two goals in that manner, it makes things complicated at this level. We just didn’t see the game out in the second half, we were making chances but didn’t score so it was difficult,” he told the BBC.
From the half-hour mark the game calmed down as Chelsea took more control but their 67.3 per cent possession failed to translate into goals as they buzzed ineffectually around the Bournemouth goal.
Both sides had 17 shots overall with the best second-half chances for Estevao, who saw his effort expertly saved by former Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic, and Bournemouth substitute Enes Unal who fired over in stoppage time.
Disappointed home fans, who watched their side defeated by Aston Villa three days ago, booed at the final whistle.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United returned to winning ways in the Premier League and added to Burnley’s woes with a 3-1 victory at Turf Moor.
Eddie Howe’s side entered last night’s contest on a three-match winless run since overcoming Burnley 2-1 earlier in December at home, but they raced into a 2-0 lead inside seven minutes.
Joelinton’s rapid opener preceded Yoane Wissa – on his first league start for the Magpies – tapping home his maiden top-flight goal for Newcastle, before Josh Laurent halved the deficit with a fine 23rd-minute volley.
Laurent was denied another goal by the woodwork as Burnley dominated the second half, before Bruno Guimaraes profited from Martin Dubravka’s error to seal all three points for Newcastle in the third minute of stoppage time.
The defeat left Burnley in 19th, six points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle’s second away win of the season moved them up to 10th.
West Ham were unable to grab a relegation lifeline after they were held to a 2-2 draw in a breathless contest against bogey side Brighton.
The Hammers were leading 2-1 and, with Nottingham Forest losing against Everton, could have cut the gap to safety to just two points.
Given that Forest are the next visitors to the London Stadium, West Ham’s prospects would have suddenly looked a lot brighter.
But Joel Veltman scrambled home an equaliser to leave the Hammers still in deep trouble and in possession of a remarkable record of still having never managed to beat Brighton at home, in what now is nine Premier League meetings.
Earlier, Danny Welbeck scored one penalty and missed another. Lucas Paqueta gave away one penalty and scored another. It was that sort of evening, the end of which meant both teams have gone through December without registering a single win.
West Ham went ahead after 10 minutes with their first attack of the match when Jarrod Bowen chased Paqueta’s ball over the top and outpaced Brighton’s defence before slotting past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
They almost doubled their lead when young left-back Ollie Scarles, who was in tears after his mistake gifted Fulham a late winner on Saturday, jinked into the area only to drag his shot wide.
However, Brighton hauled themselves level on the half-hour after Max Kilman’s clumsy challenge wiped out Yankuba Minteh in the area, with Welbeck sending Alphonse Areola the wrong way from the penalty spot.
If that was bad defending from West Ham, the next piece was downright bizarre as, from a corner, Paqueta’s rugby tackle on Lewis Dunk prompted referee Michael Salisbury to point to the spot again.
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