Chelsea left it for late but prove to be a little too much in a hard-fought duel at Stamford Bridge when they beat Bournemouth to spot in the next round.
Sarri continues to impress in his maiden season at Stamford Bridge as they clinched a late victory over Howe’s men in an important cup run. Sarri failed to remain undefeated in his first Premier League journey, however, strokes ever so perfectly in his other quests around the league campaign.
The Blues of South West London takes a trip with the Reds of North London into the next round. Will they meet, will they get the luck of the draw and get a Burton trial at home? Or will they come up against the mighty City, who inched through on penalties the night before against the Foxes?
A top display from @ArturBoruc tonight 💪#afcb 🍒 pic.twitter.com/n5d9ijF6AP
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) December 19, 2018
A short talk on the happenings as their was only one goal
Chelsea with many changes but the same start… Fast and straight out of the blocks! From kickoff to the final whistle the busy of the two keepers was Boruc. Thankfully, excepting on one occasion he was equal to the asking for the Cherries.
Besides Cecs being turned into a new person, which almost led to a goal for the Cherries, Chelsea’s attack looked pretty assuring with an exciting English look of Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Willian’s still short of his best form and wasteful in front of goal. He was lucky Kepa was on form on the other end and once again kept his side’s place in the next phase, alive.
Howe’s men were not poor, although attacked far and few between. They were too off the mark in front of goal when the opportunities arrived. The game went scoreless until the second half. Sarri’s super sub Eden Hazard needed only one asking. An 84th minute winner blessed Sarri with a match-winning substitution.
Late enough in extra time to remove the wind out of Bournemouth’s sails. A bit of luck and they could have maybe seen themselves in the next round. But Chelsea’s excellent team showing was what was needed to take it away from Eddie Howe and co.
Taken from Chelsea’s Twitter
Zola says Bournemouth gave us a very tough game after we had started the match well. He adds that the changes we were able to make, with Hazard and Pedro coming on, made the difference. #CHEBOU
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 19, 2018
Another step closer to a marvellous first season for Maurizio Sarri
A clean sheet and still fighting on three fronts for a trophy. Waiting for something bad to happen in the Premier League quest? Not a far stretch. A loss is fine, however, two or three losses in a rouged fight for gold, it’s a long shot in the dark that Chelsea can see themselves back in the EPL title race.
This is where they must look to take it all as a Champions League finish in such a brutally contested campaign, doesn’t come out to be that bad for those fighting for Champions League slots.