Sancho and Nkunku heroes off the bench as Chelsea win dirtiest game in Premier League history | OneFootball

Chelsea were indebted to their substitutes as they nicked a 1-0 win against Bournemouth on Saturday night.

The last time the Blues played away from home in the Premier League, they scored six against Wolves to claim a massive victory. This is in contrast to their home form, with one goal and one point from two matches.

So some Chelsea fans may have been optimistic about their trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday night. But any optimism would have quickly been washed away.

This was a return of the inconsistent, chaotic Chelsea that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few years. And they were lucky to not be two or three goals down.

Bournemouth outplayed their visitors despite having just over 30% of the ball and had a number of chances to win the match. Inside five minutes Bournemouth hit the crossbar with a rocket effort from Marcus Tavernier that had Robert Sanchez beaten.

At times, Chelsea were the architects of their own downfall and Bournemouth’s first-half penalty was completely avoidable. It came from a poor back pass by Wesley Fofana to Sanchez, which Evanilson get on the end of. Bournemouth’s record signing knocked the ball past Sanchez, who brought him down with Anthony Taylor pointing to the spot.

Evanilson stepped up to take the penalty but it was well saved by Sanchez.

Unlike Manchester United in their win over Southampton on Saturday afternoon, Chelsea were not buoyed by the penalty save. In fact, it made them look even more nervous, and Bournemouth rattled the woodwork again in the second half. In total, Bournemouth had 19 shots with seven hitting the target, keeping Sanchez very busy.

And, in the end, the game winning moments game in the 45th and 79th minutes. At half time, Enzo Maresca took off Pedro Neto and replaced him with Jadon Sancho, for his Chelsea debut. Neto had a good few moments in the early stages but generally struggled up against Adam Smith. Sancho, did not.

Chelsea fans were excited to see Sancho on the ball, with the Englishman looking to make an impact after a period of struggle at Manchester United. Sancho’s link up with Marc Cucurella on the left was particularly impressive, as the Englishman put in a couple of cute passes down the line for the Spaniard. The pair showed good understanding considering this was their first time playing together in a competitive match.

Despite playing 45 minutes, Sancho created more chances than any other Chelsea player, with two in total. He was also joint-top for passes in the final third (17) and attempted five take-ons, always looking to try to beat his man.

In the 79th minute, Christopher Nkunku was brought on for Nicolas Jackson in what was Maresca’s last throw of the dice. The Frenchman has had his moments in an injury-plagued time at Chelsea so far, but looked to be out of favour with Maresca in these early stages.

But, seven minutes after coming on, Nkunku got the winner. Sancho played a good ball through the Bournemouth defence to the feet of Nkunku. The Frenchman was surrounded but showed neat footwork to play himself into space, finishing past Mark Travers. Nkunku has scored four goals now for Chelsea in the Premier League, all of which have come away from home as a substitute.

One shot, one on target, one goal. It was the clinical finishing that Jackson didn’t have during his time on the pitch, and the killer creativity that the likes of Neto, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke couldn’t find. Sancho did also get booked for dissent, but this was a game for yellow cards.

Chelsea received eight and Bournemouth six, with this officially being the game with the most yellow cards in Premier League history (14). Another game involving Chelsea previously held the record, as their Battle of the Bridge against Tottenham in 2015/16 saw 12 yellow cards shown — a joint-high alongside Wolves vs Newcastle in 2010/11.

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