Chelsea were unable to find the net as they played out a goalless draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, missing the chance to close the gap on the Premier League leaders. The result leaves Enzo Maresca's side eight points adrift of the top spot after Arsenal's earlier defeat to Aston Villa.
Maresca remained optimistic about his team's title hopes, stating: 'My message after Arsenal was that, if in February/March we are where we were, we are in a title race. 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.' Cole Palmer, making his first league start since the opening day goalless draw against Crystal Palace, was substituted after an hour without making a significant impact.
Injury concerns marred the match for Chelsea, with striker Liam Delap forced off before half-time after falling on his shoulder at a defensive corner. Maresca said: 'It looks quite bad, his shoulder. He has been unlucky. Also, we are a bit unlucky because we need that kind of No 9.' Delap's replacement, Marc Guiu, received little service throughout the game.
Bournemouth had the best chances of the first half, with Antoine Semenyo having a goal disallowed for offside by VAR and later seeing a penalty appeal turned down after Reece James was involved. Alejandro Garnacho hit the post with a header in the second half as Chelsea pushed for a winner. Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola felt his side deserved more, saying: 'I think we had better chances than Chelsea. Now everything is costing us, but I think we can build on this performance.'
