Chelsea returned from the international break with the sort of start that makes a manager forgive the extra miles. Xabi Alonso had admitted he preferred the previous, shorter pause, but his side came back renewed: Cole Palmer’s new contract through to 2034 was followed by a 5-1 win over Bournemouth, with two goals on the board inside 149 seconds.
In the dressing room
Jordan Henderson set the tone in the second minute. Palmer carried the ball forward before the 36-year-old England international drove a shot towards the far corner, the effort clipping the post on its way in.
Within a minute Chelsea had a second. Henderson worked the ball out to the right, Morgan Rogers struck towards goal and António Silva turned it into his own net.
| Club | League position | Points | Record noted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 5th, provisional | 10 from 18 | 15 league goals, six in the opening 10 minutes |
| Bournemouth | Fourth from bottom | 3 | Without Andoni Iraola |
It was another sharp opening from Alonso’s Chelsea, who have now scored six of their 15 Premier League goals inside the first 10 minutes of matches. Yet the old concern remained visible before half-time: the inability to make games feel settled.
Emiliano Martínez denied Truffert when the Bournemouth player got through one-on-one in the 36th minute, then kept out an António Silva header in stoppage time.
A familiar fast start after the interval
Chelsea resumed as they had begun. Pedro Neto robbed António Silva almost immediately after the restart and squared for João Pedro to finish from close range.
The clean sheet, though, again proved beyond them. A poorly handled Bournemouth corner led to a weak clearance from Moisés Caicedo, and Evanilson blocked it into the net in the 51st minute.
Pep Chavarría, handed a place in the starting side, produced his first Chelsea assist in the 67th minute. He overlapped Rogers and delivered behind the Bournemouth back line for João Pedro to claim his second of the afternoon.
Henderson saved the best for last. Three minutes later, the former Sunderland, Liverpool, Ajax, Al Ettifaq and Brentford midfielder struck a free-kick from 30 metres to complete his own double and Chelsea’s five-goal afternoon.
The week ahead
Chelsea head into the coming week in provisional fifth place after taking 10 points from their first six games. There is plenty for Alonso to enjoy in the speed of his side’s attacking starts, and Henderson’s unlikely afternoon provided an experienced hand on the tiller. The next task is rather more familiar: finding a way to turn such control into the clean sheets that would make the table look healthier still.
