Frank Lampard marked his 100th game in Premier League management by picking up his first points since returning to Chelsea thanks to two late goals in a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth.
Strikes from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix in the final eight minutes at Vitality Stadium earned the Blues a first success in almost two months to halt their six-game losing streak under interim boss Lampard.
The west London club looked like they would have to settle for a draw on the south coast after Cherries defender Matias Vina cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s early header.
Bournemouth also had the better of the chances before the late drama, with Dango Ouattara squandering a golden opening by heading over from inside the six-yard box.
Yet Badiashile and Felix punished that profligacy, leaving visiting fans to salute the overdue triumph with ironic chants of “we are staying up”.
Victory in Dorset moved the two-time European champions on to 42 points, three ahead of their hosts, albeit they remain in the bottom half of the table.
For Lampard personally, it was a first victory in 17 matches including his Everton days and his first with Chelsea in 832 days dating back to a 3-1 FA Cup success over Luton in January 2021 during his initial spell as manager.
The former Blues and England midfielder opted for five changes following Tuesday’s tame 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling among those dropped, while the Cherries were unchanged from the 4-1 thrashing of Leeds.
Gary O’Neil’s in-form hosts began brighter but after Jefferson Lerma, who scored twice last weekend, curled narrowly wide, Chelsea snatched a ninth-minute lead.
Trevoh Chalobah’s pass afforded N’Golo Kante time and space to deliver an inviting cross from the right wing and recalled midfielder Gallagher beat Adam Smith to the ball to divert a simple, close-range header beyond goalkeeper Neto.
Chelsea supporters responded to the early breakthrough with self-deprecating chants about avoiding relegation and “we’ve scored a goal” after seeing their side net for only the third time in nine outings.
Yet they were not ahead for long.
Uruguay left-back Vina claimed the 21st-minute equaliser, delightfully curling home via the right post from just inside the Blues’ 18-yard box following slick interplay involving Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke.
The Roma loanee’s eye-catching leveller prompted calls of “sign him up” from home supporters, in addition to light-hearted taunts of “you’re going down with the scummers” directed at the away end and referencing local rivals Southampton.
While Chelsea have endured a torrid season under their American owners, Bournemouth have gone from strength to strength since Texas businessman Bill Foley completed his takeover in December.
O’Neil’s men, who won six of their previous nine fixtures to banish relegation fears, remained relatively comfortable for the rest of the half, with Chelsea short of ideas and looking toothless in attack.
The away team continued to monopolise the ball following the restart but the lack of creativity persisted.
At the other end, Badiashile turned behind Ouattara’s dangerous low cross while lively winger Christie rippled the side-netting.
Lampard, who suffered league and Carabao Cup defeats on this ground with Everton earlier this season, then saw his side survive a VAR check for a possible penalty when Thiago Silva slid in on Solanke before Vina was denied a second when his shot was pushed wide by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Ouattara should have given Bournemouth the lead 11 minutes from time when he somehow nodded over unmarked after Lerma headed a Lewis Cook corner back across goal.
That miss proved pivotal as Chelsea grabbed the three points with quick-fire goals in the closing stages.
Former Monaco defender Badiashile restored the Blues’ advantage in the 82nd minute, connecting with Hakim Ziyech’s searching free-kick into the box to volley beyond Neto and claim his first goal for the club.
Belated joy for Lampard was secured four minutes later as Felix put the result beyond doubt with a first-time finish after fellow substitute Sterling burst into the box and slipped the ball to his right.
Everton to 'assess all options' as 777 Partners takeover falls through
Everton will "assess all options" regarding the club's ownership after a proposed takeover by 777 Partners fell through on Saturday.
Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri agreed to sell his 94 per cent stake in the club to the US-based consortium last September, but the Premier League refused to sign off on the takeover.
The deal was repeatedly delayed as 777 failed to meet the Premier League's required conditions of ownership, though the consortium provided financial support to the club for several months.
Everton lost eight points to two deductions in 2023-24 for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, but still finished 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
Moshiri is now looking for alternative buyers to come forward, with Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor having expressed an interest in investing last month.
The club said in a statement: "The agreement between 777 Partners and Blue Heaven Holdings Limited for the sale and purchase of the majority shareholding in the club expired today.
"The board of directors recognises the considerable level of financial support 777 Partners has provided the club over recent months and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for this.
"The club will continue to operate as usual while it works with Blue Heaven Holdings to assess all options for the club's future ownership.
"The board of directors would like to thank everyone connected to Everton for their patience over recent months and reiterate its commitment to providing further updates when it is appropriate to do so through the club's official communication channels."
Paqueta to remain in Brazil's Copa America squad despite FA charges
The Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed Lucas Paqueta will remain in Brazil’s Copa America squad despite being charged over alleged breaches of betting rules by the English Football Association (FA).
Last August, it was reported the FA had opened an investigation into suspicious betting activity surrounding Paqueta, who said he was cooperating with the FA’s probe in March.
The West Ham midfielder is accused of intentionally seeking to receive a card in four different Premier League fixtures, three in the 2022-23 season and one on the opening matchday of 2023-24, with the charges brought against him last Thursday.
Paqueta, who has until June 3 to respond to the charges, addressed the situation on social media saying, "I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name."
Now, the CBF has confirmed that Paqueta will be staying in the national squad for the upcoming tournament following discussions between the two football associations.
"Given the facts reported by the English Federation, the CBF, supported by the joint opinion from the Legal and Governance and Compliance Directorates and the Integrity Unit, has decided to maintain the player's call-up," the CBF said in a statement signed by president Ednaldo Rodrigues.
"Based on the information provided by the FA, it is categorically concluded that the player, Lucas Paqueta, despite the behaviour for which he was accused authorising preventive removal [from the squad] ... has not been penalised to date by the prosecuting body authorised to sanction him.
"It is right to say that the player is free to perform his professional job until the present moment, the source of his livelihood and that of his family, in a full and unrestricted manner, whether for his club or his country's national team."
Selecao are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will kick off their campaign against Costa Rica in Group D on June 24.
Yorke hails 'remarkable job' by Emery at Villa
Former Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke believes Unai Emery has done a "remarkable job" and hopes they can maintain the new level they have reached.
Emery joined Villa in November 2022 when the club was in a relegation fight, and led them to a seventh-place finish, securing qualification to the Europa Conference League.
In his first full season in charge, the Spaniard oversaw another impressive campaign as the Villans finished fourth in the Premier League, ensuring Champions League football for the first time since 1982-83.
Villa also reached the semi-final of the Europa Conference League after seeing off Ajax and Lille in the knockout stages, but were knocked out by eventual champions, Olympiacos.
On Monday, Villa confirmed that Emery had signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2029.
Yorke, who spent nine years at Villa between 1989 and 1998, says the club have finally found the right balance.
"They've got good backers, good owners, invest heavily in their team and that shows what they want, but they've got also you need a correct manager and I think Unai Emery has come into that category," Yorke told Stats Perform.
"Villa is a tremendous football club. Emery has done a remarkable job to get Villa in the Champions League, a bit like Newcastle last season in many respects.
"Now the expectation is can he now really show what kind of manager he is? Now the [board] and the chairman will back him, bringing new players, bringing players to enhance that team, and they are going to try and maintain that [status as a top club].
"If he does that next year and qualifies for the Champions League again, plus probably win a cup, I think he then shows what really a true fantastic manager he is for Villa.
"To achieve their goal this season, I think the chairman, the fans, everybody will be thrilled that Villa is in the Champions League next year."
Despite their strong season, Yorke admits that Villa will need to think about adding to their squad to cope with the demands of playing in the Champions League.
"You have got to say to the owners, listen I need another three, four, five players to come in because now you're playing with the big boys, you're going from Champions League to the Premier League to the Champions League with the big boys," he added.
"You need a squad to be going into these games. The players will find it totally different because they're not used to that.
"They have got get used to that very quickly, but you've got an experienced manager in that type of way of playing [in Europe as well as domestically]. It will be new for Villa.
"It will be interesting to see how they handle that type of story going forward, how they handle the Champions League.
"It takes a really unique manager to then get a team advancing out of that group, then into the latter stage from the round of 16.
"[If Emery does that], now you're showing your true colours, but I think they've got to add maybe three or four new players to the squad that will help them to make sure that they can maintain [a challenge] on both fronts."
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