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Bournemouth shocked Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Dan Gosling scored an invaluable goal in the final ten minutes of the game for Eddie Howe's men. Throughout the match, Chelsea was extremely dull and looked short of ideas. On the other hand, the Cherries were quick on the counter and managed to create some brilliant chances.
Chelsea had the majority of the possession and had more shots on target. However, they failed to create any meaningful chances and apart from a direct header for Emerson, the Blues barely found any space in the box.
The Cherries had a specific game plan as they saw Chelsea unable to break between the lines. All their players defended tirelessly and were quick to break on the counter as soon as possession turned over.
This strategy got them into several promising positions and they could have scored a few more goals. Howe's approach eventually got his side the victory as Chelsea succumbed to yet another defeat at home.
Here, we take a look at 3 conclusions to draw from Chelsea's defeat against Bournemouth.
Chelsea and Kepa need to find a solution
Chelsea dished out €80 million to secure the services of Kepa Arrizabalaga. Last season, things were moving smoothly and despite the occasional stutter, Kepa looked confident in his box. However, this season has been a completely different story.
In the past few weeks, he has committed mistakes that have led to a goal directly or indirectly. Against the Cherries, Chelsea conceded a goal in the 84th minute. Bournemouth won a corner which was cleared comfortably by Chelsea.
However, it went straight to Jefferson Lerma. He headed the ball into the box towards Kepa. Dan Gosling was onside and managed to dink the ball over Kepa into the back of the net.
The problem here is that Kepa was completely out of position in this situation. He was standing in between the goal line and Gosling. As soon as he saw Lerma's header, he should have moved towards the ball or the goal line.
Considering Kepa's recent performances, Chelsea must consider bringing in a new keeper to challenge Kepa in his position and force him to be more careful during the game.
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Jorginho's lobs are a lost cause
Jorginho started the season strongly as he was constantly linking the attack and the defence. However, he has lost his touch a bit as the season progressed. The Italian hasn't been able to make a meaningful impact for a while now and hasn't really influenced proceedings in attack.
There have been moments where Jorginho has lost the ball in crucial areas, and some of them have led to goals. His questionable lobs over the top have been even more frustrating.
On countless occasions, he has been lobbing the ball without even looking at the players available. These lobs rarely reach a Chelsea shirt and break down the attack more often than not.
Against Bournemouth, Jorginho was moving the ball around quickly but was careless with his lobs again. As Chelsea started losing its way in the match, Jorginho became careless and lobbed the ball more and more.
Considering the situation, it was extremely naive to continue this strategy. It is clear that this gameplan is not coming off and Lampard should talk to Jorginho about this in detail.
Chelsea unable to break down compact defences
This season, Chelsea's biggest problem is that they haven't been able to unlock tight defences. Despite dominating possession, they have failed to come up with proper chances that can lead to goals.
In the matches against teams like Everton and West Ham, Chelsea were passing the ball around pointlessly. They were unable to penetrate the compact defensive structures and looked helpless in front of their defensive organisation.
Against Bournemouth, Chelsea looked positive and fresh in the beginning as they were attacking quickly. As the match went on, Chelsea fell short of ideas. Bournemouth had all players back in defence whenever Chelsea threatened to weave an attack. They were able to outnumber the Chelsea midfield and didn't leave any space for passes.
The main area of concern here is that Chelsea is dropping points against teams in the lower half of the table. Frank Lampard must take a break and analyse the potential changes he needs to make to bring some new ideas into the squad.
