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Gameweek 24 saw many surprises along the way for football fans and pundits, with Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool dropping points to majorly underwhelming sides.
The most surprising of all was this one, as Chelsea are slowly slipping away from what was a guaranteed top 4 position to now level on points with Arsenal at 5th and a roaring Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just 2 points behind.
Chelsea started the game off not so brightly, but many had hoped that this game would've been comparatively easier to get a result from as Bournemouth haven't had the greatest run of late. And the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain, who is well versed with Sarriball, was expected to make an instant impact.
But that wasn't the case as Chelsea were taken apart by Bournemouth, and have now lost 2 League games in a row.
Chelsea are now in a state similar to last season under Conte, and it is very much likely that if they continue like this, the top 4 may well be out of sight, and the Blues will be set for another season of Europa League.
#5 Emerson gets a rare start, but fails to capitalise
Emerson was given the nod ahead of Spanish international, Marcos Alonso, and much was expected of the young Italian. But things didn't go as planned, as he couldn't provide both offensively and defensively. He had a tough time going up against Junior Stanislas, and later Jordan Ibe.
With both of Sarri's left-backs not clicking, and the transfer market all but done, Chelsea still have unanswered problems on all areas of the pitch, and there seems to be no answer right now.
Will going to the market in search of yet another left-back be the answer for Chelsea? Or should they give time for Emerson to develop? Only time will tell.
#4 Joshua King steps up in Wilson's absence
Callum Wilson's absence from the matchday squad would be a relief to any squad, given his current form, and Chelsea would have had a sigh of relief as well. But what they didn't come prepared for was Joshua King who has been having a good season, and had gone under the radar due to the step up in performances of Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson.
Nonetheless, the Norwegian international stepped up and proved to be a thorn for the Chelsea defense on the night. With Bournemouth's fixtures stacked, King could prove to be more than useful, and bag himself some goals till Wilson gets back from his knee injury.
Although there had been a dip in his form, having scored against West Ham and now Chelsea, he may have found his scoring touch yet again.
It is time for Bournemouth to challenge for the Europa League places.
#3 Debut to forget for Higuain in the league
Having already played for Sarri at Napoli, Higuain was expected to hit the ground running instantly. He did have a good debut in the FA Cup against Sheffield Wednesday. In his Premier League debut, he cut a frustrated figure against Bournemouth, and also failed to link up well with his teammates.
Although it is very early for him to link up fluently, it was a very poor performance by the Argentine's standards.
Higuain had a grand total of 0 shots in the 65 minutes he played, and it's safe to say he still hasn't settled into the squad. Given he has been training with his new teammates for barely 2 weeks, time will tell if he can fire Chelsea into the Champions League spots.
With Hazard back on his preferred left wing, he can create many chances for Higuain to score, and put Chelsea back on track.
#2 David Brook's injury a concern for Eddie Howe
There were many doubts regarding the signing of David Brooks from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, but the young Englishman has proven to be worth the price, as he has kept the Bournemouth side ticking, and has been very effective whenever he has played.
He played as a second striker this game behind King, and was a menace for Chelsea's midfield and defense. He was taken out around the 70th minute mark because of a minor injury.
Having been involved in directly 10 (6 goals and 4 assists) goals in 22 league appearances, Eddie Howe will hope this isn't anything serious, as he has been an integral part of this Bournemouth team, and will help them push for the Europa League places.
#1 Chelsea's midfield lacking creativity
Chelsea have a serious problem of creativity right now, with 2 defensive minded players in Kante and Jorginho, and a box-to-box player in Kovacic, their sole creator is Eden Hazard who has taken the burden of creating the chances and scoring goals due to the absence of a well versed #9.
Now with Higuain's arrival, he doesn't have the need to play as a false-nine, but he still is the man Chelsea depend upon every game.
When the Belgian is having an off day, the whole team just passes the ball sideways, and aren't creating significant goal-scoring chances.
There is need for a creative midfielder at Chelsea, one who can step up in Eden Hazard's off days, or if he leaves - in which case big problems ahead for Chelsea, which is one of the many reasons they need to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi.
