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.
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.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
