Watch and learn, kids. The day began with one for the youth audience, Cole Palmer appearing on a live stream to explain the thinking behind his latest contract extension. It finished with the oldest player to join Chelsea during the BlueCo era stealing the show with an all-action midfield display.
Even Palmer was happy to step aside as Jordan Henderson used his right foot to curl home a free-kick that drew comparisons with one of David Beckham’s specials. It was Henderson’s second spectacular strike – he marked his home debut by opening the scoring with a bending effort from 20 yards and also laid on an assist for Morgan Rogers to make it 2-0 – although it is fair to assume that Xabi Alonso did not bring the veteran to Stamford Bridge for his goalscoring prowess.
The idea was more to lift standards in the dressing room. Chelsea needed experience and are surely better off now a 36-year-old starting for them in midfield is no longer a laughable notion.
“We signed him for everything,” Alonso said of Henderson. “If he’s able to score two beauties as today, we are more than happy for him. But apart from the goals he’s done many good things. He’s always involved in the action, always giving solutions to teammates.”
Henderson set the tone for Chelsea, driving into tackles and raising the tempo with the urgency of his passing. He joined from Brentford in the summer and is keen to do more than make up the numbers. Chelsea, up to fifth after their first win in four league games, were more stable with Henderson alongside Moisés Caicedo, who lasted 72 minutes on his long-awaited return from a calf injury.
Alonso, who was without Reece James after the captain picked up a knee injury in training on Friday, was still disappointed his side have now gone 22 league games without a clean sheet. They were 3-0 up when Evanilson pulled a goal back for Bournemouth, who are finding the transition from Andoni Iraola to Marco Rose trickier than anticipated and must manage games better.
Even so, Alonso was pleased with Chelsea’s level. They have scored in the first 10 minutes in five of their six league games this season and are a match for anyone when the front three of Palmer, Rogers and João Pedro take full flight.
Palmer had a point to prove after having his desire to play for England questioned by Thomas Tuchel last month. His impact was immediate, although it owed much to Bournemouth’s naivety. The visitors lined up in a flat 4-4-2 formation and gave Palmer far too much space when he sauntered down the right in the first minute.
It was encouraging to see Palmer moving freely, especially after Alonso’s admission that the playmaker’s decision to sit out the international break was related to last season’s groin pain, but Bournemouth were a soft touch. There was no challenge on the 24-year-old, who has displayed his commitment to Chelsea by signing on until 2034.
Palmer floated into the area, turned and rolled the ball to Henderson, who hit it first time with the inside of his right foot and saw his bending effort go in off the inside of the right post.
There were 68 seconds on the clock when Henderson became Chelsea’s oldest scorer in the Premier League since John Terry in May 2017. “We knew Chelsea are a team that starts well,” Rose said. “It was our responsibility that we didn’t react the right way with this information.”
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Bournemouth were overwhelmed. Chelsea pushed again in the third minute, Palmer’s flick freeing Pedro Neto to test Djordje Petrovic. The ball broke loose and Henderson swept a pass to Rogers, who cut in from the left and his shot flew in via a deflection off Antonio Silva.
The focus switched to Bournemouth’s long list of absentees. Justin Kluivert and Eli Junior Kroupi are big losses in attack. Alex Scott, the subject of multiple bids from Chelsea in the summer, exacerbated a thigh problem during a scintillating display for England against Croatia last Saturday.
These are worrying times for Bournemouth, who are winless after six league games. Goal difference is keeping them out of the bottom three and they struggled without Scott’s energy and quality in midfield. Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams were overrun and Silva had a nightmare at the back, his error at the start of the second half allowing Neto to nip in and set up João Pedro to make it 3-0 with an emphatic shot.
Bournemouth had chances during the first half, Christie, Rayan and Silva drawing saves from Emiliano Martínez, but it suited Chelsea for a basketball game to develop.
There were echoes of past battles between Alonso and Rose in the Bundesliga. Rose, who ended Alonso’s 35-game unbeaten run with Bayer Leverkusen when he was RB Leipzig’s manager, was a distinct second-best this time. Evanilson bundled in from a corner, but Chelsea were rampant.
The fourth goal arrived when Rogers found the overlapping Pep Chavarria, whose low cross was gobbled up by João Pedro. Alonso, who had become increasingly frantic on the touchline, relaxed. He was a great midfielder in his day and will have appreciated the technique when Henderson’s free-kick flew beyond the reach of Petrovic.
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