Toothless Chelsea draw at Bournemouth
Chelsea’s shortcomings in front of goal were evident again in a stalemate on the south coast.
They hit the woodwork twice at the Vitality Stadium and had plenty of possession.
In the first half, Nicolas Jackson thumped a low shot against the post after linking up with Mykhailo Mudryk.
The visitors went agonisingly close again in the second half, this time when Raheem Sterling’s free-kick hit the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal-line.
Levi Coliwell was on hand to fire the loose ball into the net, but the defender was offside and the goal rightly disallowed.
Ben Chilwell, left out in favour of Mudryk, was involved in the action straight after coming on as a late substitute, sending in a cross from the left for Jackson.
But the striker was unable to react quickly enough and the ball hit his head and into the grateful arms of keeper Neto.
Another substitute, Cole Palmer, had a great chance after combining with Raheem Sterling, but Neto was easily able to keep out the youngster’s tame effort.
Chelsea have won just one of their first five games of the season, securing a disappointing five points, in a difficult start to Mauricio Pochettino’s reign as boss.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill (Chilwell 81); Gallagher, Ugochukwu; Sterling, Fernandez (Maatsen 81), Mudryk (Palmer 63); Jackson.
Subs not used: Petrovic, Bergstrom, Gilchrist, Matos, Stutter, Washington.
