Bournemouth v Chelsea player ratings

Chelsea dispatched Bournemouth 4-1 to avenge the defeat they suffered against the Cherries in December. Here’s how we rated the Blues players in the win at the Vitality Stadium.

Asmir Begovic: 6
Returned for the suspended Thibaut Courtois. Made a couple of good saves but also flapped occasionally and was beaten by Tommy Elphick’s header.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 7
Given some problems at times by Marc Pugh but was largely solid defensively, and tidy and efficient with the ball.

John Mikel Obi: 6
Played as a makeshift centre-half after Gary Cahill fell ill overnight. Unsurprisingly looked uneasy at times, particularly when making a challenge that Bournemouth felt should have led to a penalty. But, for someone not familiar with the position, he wasn’t too bad.

Branislav Ivanovic: 6
Captained the side in the absence of John Terry but didn’t lead by example. Struggled against the pace and directness of Josh King before the forward was withdrawn just after the hour mark.

Baba Rahman
A mixed display all round. Junior Stanislas kept him busy and his crossing was hit and miss, but he won balls in the air and when he kept things simple he was neat and tidy.

Nemanja Matic: 8
Under Guus Hiddink, he has largely been displaced by Mikel, but with the Nigerian playing in the back four, Matic was restored to the midfield and a fine display was capped by a dynamic run and pull-back for Eden Hazard’s second goal.

Cesc Fabregas: 9
Three assists in a Premier League game for the second time in his career, having laid on four against Blackburn in October 2009. Released Pedro and Willian for fine finishes, while his back-heeled lay-off for Hazard’s first goal was pure class. 

Pedro: 8
The Spaniard opened the scoring and in bursts he was irrepressible, popping up all over the place. If being ultra-critical, his end product was inconsistent – otherwise Bournemouth might have been finished off earlier.

Willian: 8
Worked hard in both halves of the pitch, as usual, and used the ball well. Deserved the goal that he scored, with a clipped finish after Fabregas’ pass. Replaced late on by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Eden Hazard: 9
An enforced six weeks away seems to have given the Belgian his hunger back and he scored his first league goals in almost a year to keep Bournemouth at arm’s length.

Diego Costa: 6
It’s not often Costa is overshadowed but he played second fiddle to the three attackers in behind him this time. The Spain striker had only a couple of shots, both off target, in a frustrating display.