EPL 2016/17: Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea, 5 Talking Points
Chelsea took home all three points from an end-to-end encounter in the south coast, but the scoreline does not do justice to the Cherries’ efforts and spirit.
An unfortunate Adam Smith own goal in the 17th-minute put the Blues ahead, while an Eden Hazard beauty within a few moments put them firmly in the driver’s seat.
However, a few minutes ahead of half-time, Joshua King pulled one back for the hosts with a deflected shot off David Luiz, raising hopes of a Bournemouth fight-back in the second half.
In this piece, we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Costa and King – an evening of contrasts
Diego Costa had a blazing start to the 2016/17 season, scoring goals at will and seeming to reach the double figure mark quite effortlessly. However, the Blues man has now gone four league games without a goal; his last one came against West Ham over a month ago.
That is not to say he was ineffective; his name was not on the score-sheet but he was far from anonymous. The striker brought his teammates into play and set up Pedro and Hazard on a couple of occasions and linked well with the latter as the game went on.
Also Read: Conte defends Costa after striker's goalless run extends in Bournemouth win
However, he looked frustrated in the final third throughout, and even the shot he took from a few yards out leading to the opener was off-target.
While Costa is on a barren run, his opposite number from Cherries is anything but.
Josh King scored his 10th goal in 11 league games with a lovely shot just before half-time, off Benik Afobe’s through-ball. The Norwegian, who had rescued a point for the Cherries at Anfield midweek, gave his team hope and impetus with his strike and a work-rate to match it.