On Saturday, Chelsea earned three critical points away against Bournemouth. Football.london examines some of the talking points from the significant win.
Tell the truth, how many of you genuinely thought Chelsea would win against Bournemouth on Saturday?
If any of you answered "me," I'm not sure if I believe you, but if it's true, congratulations. Frank Lampard's team had lost their previous six games overall coming into the matchup. The interim head coach of the Blues has continuously stressed that there is still much to play for this season and has frequently emphasized the importance of taking "pride" in their play in order to move "steps" forward. Well, to everyone's astonishment, they did that on Saturday.
The visiting fans, who were boisterous the whole game at a soggy Vitality Stadium, were particularly outspoken with their tongue-in-cheek shouts about how awful their team has been lately after each of Chelsea's three goals. Just a few of the songs coming from the away end included "How s*** must you be, we're winning a game" and "we've scored a goal".
Although Lampard would have preferred more control from Chelsea in the first half, they were mostly effective when in possession. Chances, however, were scarce, and when one did present itself, Conor Gallagher made Bournemouth pay with a powerful header into the corner.
We all thought, "Here we go again," when Matias Vina's moment of brilliance allowed the Cherries to tie the game, but that wasn't the case. In the later parts of the second half, Chelsea erupted. After an excellent Hakim Ziyech cross, Benoit Badiashile finished nicely on the volley, and then Joao Felix scored the game's fourth and final goal following a signature Raheem Sterling solo run, but not as frequently this season.
What can we infer from Chelsea's unusual victory, then? Is this the beginning of a streak for Lampard and his group before the season's end?
It was past due. Before the game began, there was excitement among Chelsea fans when they noticed Badiashile's name on the teamsheet. Since joining the Blues in January, the young Frenchman has displayed flashes of brilliance, but this was his first start since the loss at Brighton last month.
It was a challenging test for Badiashile to go up against Dominic Solanke, who was a pest and in good form. However, he did not make it appear that way. For the 22-year-old defender, everything was really straightforward. At the Vitality Stadium, he won more than 50% of his duels and was only passed once.
He stands out from several Chelsea center backs because of how calm he is when he is in possession of the ball. He found Kai Havertz a lot because he was continuously searching for the long ball over the top to him. He must remain a staple in the first team for the rest of the season after such an outstanding performance.
Madueke is the same way. The 21-year-old winger, who was playing on the wide right and occasionally came close to hugging the touchline, had room to maneuver against Vina at left-back. He kept attempting to seduce Vina, and more often than not, he made it look simple.
But what Madueke does that other Chelsea attackers don't is excite fans. He is so quick and the ball is practically on a string when at his feet. He looks an absolute nightmare to defend against. A pure entertainer. Reminds me in that regard of Allan Saint-Maximin. Much has been said about Gallagher and his future at Chelsea. We know there is interest in the EPL.
That might be greatly influenced by the confidence Lampard has instilled in the midfielder. Since rejoining the team, Lampard has started four of his five Premier League games. in Saturday afternoon, he was handed another chance, and the interim manager's trust was almost immediately repaid in minute 9 when the midfielder headed in.
If he can maintain this type of play in the season's remaining games, Chelsea will have a significant decision to make over the summer transfer market. We all know that Gallagher would prefer to remain in west London and play for his old club, but possibilities to play for the first team and game time obviously play a major role. What happens will depend on what the new management has in store for him.
N'Golo Kante has played in a wide variety of positions for Chelsea over the years. He has played defensive midfielder, in the No. 8 position, and recently even as a sort of second striker. It was something similar to the box-to-box role we're used to seeing against Bournemouth, but he had an attacking goal to support Madueke on the right side, which is something we haven't seen as frequently.
Trevoh Chalobah, Madueke, and Kante were frequently in close proximity to one another, which occasionally helped Chelsea control the game. As obvious as that may sound, we haven't seen much of it under Lampard's interim leadership. There appears to have been an actual shape.
Gallagher headed in Kante's exquisite cross from the right side of the box to score the game's first goal. It's not something we typically identify with the Frenchman's style of play, but it once again demonstrates how versatile of a midfielder he is.
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