EPL: Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea

Sead Kolasinac scored one and set up another

Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea secured a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Antonio Conte’s men dominated the first half but had to wait until the 24th minute to create their first opportunity although when it came Alvaro Morata dragged his right-foot effort wide of Asmir Begovic’s goal from close range.

Just four minutes later and Morata had the ball in the back of the net but his effort was rightly ruled out for an offside against Cesar Azpilicueta.

Morata was at the centre of all of Chelsea’s first-half opportunities and on 34 minutes he was denied by Begovic after he neatly rolled Steve Cook in the penalty area.

Bournemouth rarely threatened throughout the opening 45 minutes although Charlie Daniels did deliver some dangerous crosses from the left.

In the second half Chelsea finally opened the scoring on 51 minutes when the lively Hazard capitalised on a mistake from Cherries skipper Simon Francis before drilling the ball past Begovic at the near post.

Bournemouth responded well to falling behind and Jordon Ibe, a half-time substitute for Jermain Defoe, came close when he drove a left-foot effort just over the bar from the edge of the box.

However, Chelsea remained a threat when they burst forward and Cesc Fabregas came close to doubling their lead although his effort flew over following neat build-up play by Hazard and Marcos Alonso.

The final chance of the game fell to Bournemouth centre-back Cook but his effort on the turn was straight down the throat of the otherwise untroubled Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.