Chelsea lose more ground in Bournemouth stalemate and suffer Delap blow

Any momentum Chelsea had picked up in the final week of November, through outclassing Barcelona and matching Arsenal with 10 men, appears to have been stunted in December. After Wednesday’s defeat at Leeds, a point against Bournemouth is no disaster but, with Arsenal’s earlier loss to Aston Villa, it is a chance missed. Eight points separate Enzo Maresca’s side and the top of the Premier League.

At full time, Maresca was not ready to throw in the towel. “My message after Arsenal was that, if in February/March we are where we were, we are in a title race,” he said. “But the table is so tight. I’m still thinking that the four, five, six teams that are at the top are going to be all close.” The last time Chelsea failed to score in a league game was on the opening weekend against Crystal Palace, their run of 13 matches scoring the longest of any team this season. Cole Palmer, making his first league start since that goalless draw in August, exerted little influence and was replaced by João Pedro after an hour. Continue reading...