Evening Standard
·14 Januari 2025
Evening Standard
·14 Januari 2025
Blues claim dramatic last-gasp draw courtesy of Reece James free-kick as winless top-flight run goes on
Chelsea had Reece James to thank for avoiding a home defeat by Bournemouth on Tuesday night. The Blues captain came off the bench to score a stoppage-time free-kick to salvage a share of the spoils for Enzo Maresca’s side, who had led at the interval at Stamford Bridge thanks to Cole Palmer’s early goal but were then stunned by a Justin Kluivert penalty and Antoine Semenyo’s fine strike.
Though a very welcome scoring return to Premier League action for their injury-plagued skipper, Chelsea have now gone five top-flight matches in a row without a win as they once again spurned numerous great chances to put the game to bed and ended up paying the price, dropping yet more points to put their top-four place in jeopardy with Newcastle only two points behind and hosting relegation battlers Wolves on Wednesday night.
Once they have shaken off the disappointment of conceding a last-gasp equaliser, Bournemouth will be rightly proud of their efforts as they stayed seventh with another spirited performance and result that came despite a nightmare injury crisis that only got worse on the night. Maresca, meanwhile, was left fuming after Cherries winger David Brooks avoided a red card for dragging down Marc Cucurella. Follow Chelsea vs Bournemouth reaction live below!