Chelsea draw with Bournemouth, continue to lose steam in the championship race

(Dan Tri) - Bournemouth held Chelsea to a goalless draw in round 15 of the Premier League on the night of December 6. The Blues extended their unbeaten away streak, but their championship ambitions were shaken.

Chelsea endured a second Premier League game without a goal in 2025-26, picking up just one point in a dramatic away trip to Bournemouth. While the goalless draw extended the Blues’ unbeaten run away from home in all competitions to seven (W5 D2), it left them eight points behind leaders Arsenal, further eroding their title hopes.

Having failed to win in their last five games (1 draw, 4 losses), Bournemouth started the game with great enthusiasm, putting pressure on Chelsea from the very beginning. In the fourth minute, the Vitality Stadium exploded when Antoine Semenyo put the ball into the net from a chaotic situation in the penalty area. However, the goal was disallowed because Evanilson was in an offside position.

Antoine Semenyo scored against Chelsea in the 4th minute (Photo: Getty).

VAR disallowed Bournemouth's goal due to offside (Photo: Getty).

Chelsea gradually regained control of the game after the first few confusing minutes, but the attack still lacked innovation, especially after Liam Delap had to leave the field due to injury in the 32nd minute.

Bournemouth continued to be the team that created more dangerous chances in the first half. In the 35th minute, Semenyo's low shot was pushed by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez right into Evanilson's position, but the striker missed despite being in a good position. At the end of the first half, coach Andoni Iraola was certainly more satisfied as Enzo Maresca's team failed to have a shot on target and were constantly pushed into a passive position.

In the second half, Chelsea showed a marked improvement in attack, the visitors constantly putting pressure on former goalkeeper Đorđe Petrovic's goal. Alejandro Garnacho created the most notable chance with a tricky header that Petrovic struggled to save. The game was a stalemate as time ticked down, and an injury to standout defender Marcos Senesi made it difficult for the home side to defend.

Chelsea were outclassed by home team Bournemouth (Photo: Getty).

Despite scoring in 13 Premier League games this season, Chelsea were lacking in cutting edge up front and were unsteady at times at the back. Another dangerous long-range shot from Semenyo forced Sanchez to dive to save it. The Blues can hardly complain about the draw.

This match extended Bournemouth's winless streak against Chelsea to eight Premier League meetings (D4 L4). Although their energetic performance helped boost their morale, the one point still left the Cherries in the bottom half of the table. As for Chelsea, dropping five points in the last two rounds has left them eight points behind leaders Arsenal, and their title ambitions are increasingly distant as the Blues are only fourth.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chelsea-hoa-bournemouth-tiep-tuc-hut-hoi-trong-cuoc-dua-vo-dich-20251207051218145.htm