Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea: Frank Lampard gets his first win as interim Blues boss with two late goals

They started with the ironic humor of ‘We are stay up!’ when they scored and at their low they chanted support for Roman Abramovich. In between, there were boos for star signing Raheem Sterling when he came on and then also for substitute Hakim Ziyech. It’s safe to say Chelsea fans were an unhappy bunch.

But towards the end of it all, there was a victory – at last – one ironically created by the aforementioned Ziyech and Sterling. On 82 minutes Ziyech executed a fine free-kick in the path of Benoit Badiashile, not followed by Bournemouth defenders, who volleyed from close range with the side of his foot, goalkeeper Neto had made a mistake in not pushing him away with more power to push.

Four minutes later it was Sterling who scored despite the reception he received rather than thanks to the reception he received, breaking into the Bournemouth box and ensuring Joao Felix made it 3–1.

So by the end it was all ‘Super Frankie Lampard’ and the memory of his six consecutive losses and the fact that this was the first win since March 11 faded a bit. Just watch you a little bit.

Lampard will be hugely relieved that this wasn’t Arsenal’s mid-week omnishbles. But ahead of those two late goals, the mood was tumultuous and the side looked as shaky as ever.

The 3-1 victory for the Blues at Vitality Stadium was Frank Lampard’s first win during this interim period as Chelsea manager

Matias Vina scored a beautifully curled shot past goalkeeper Kepa to level the Cherries after Conor Gallagher’s opener

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Bournemouth had their own song of the day. “£600 million! You’re still not very good’ they chanted. Words to that effect, with a bit of Anglo-Saxon vernacular thrown in for good measure.

And therein lies the problem. Chelsea still looked like a bunch of scared strangers. N’Golo Kante, Conor Gallagher and Thiago Silva provide some leadership. Noni Madueke took off where he ended on Tuesday, playing with undoubted enthusiasm but somewhat idiosyncratic end product. Kepa Arrizabalaga kept Matias Vina out in the second half with a fine save. But for a long time it looked like Bournemouth’s game was up for grabs.

They had recovered from a ninth-minute deficit to a genuine starting goal, nothing more than a cross from Kante and a fine header from Gallagher. But Lloyd Kelly will know that his foot-up fumble challenge on Gallagher would never deter him. Bournemouth made it way too easy.

Still, they responded with a super goal, Vina cutting to the left and exchanging a series of passes with Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke to split Chelsea after 22 minutes. He got the ball back from Christie, pivoted on his right foot and curled it into the top corner.

After that they seemed to be the ore confident team without exploiting the nervousness in Chelsea’s ranks. The visitors did come out of the second half, forcing a succession of corner kicks and enjoying more possession.

Still, Bournemouth’s moment came in the 78th minute, an in-swinging corner firmly answered by Jefferson Lerma. It was aimed at the path of Dango Ouattara, who got up to meet it, but instead of diverting it into the net, he headed towards it. Heads were clamped everywhere. Four minutes later, Chelsea took the lead, the game was over and Chelsea were able to save at least some pride.