| Soccer Football – Premier League – Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta attempts to clear a shot off the line as Bournemouth’s Dan Gosling scores their first goal |
Defiant Bournemouth stole all three points with a late goal from Dan Gosling at Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, ending a five-match losing streak with a 1-0 win.
Gosling looped his shot over goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s head in the 84th minute, and defender Cesar Azpilicueta hooked it out, but after a lengthy wait for a VAR offside check referee Graham Scott awarded the goal.
Chelsea, who qualified for the Champions League knockout stages with a nervy 2-1 home win against Lille on Tuesday, looked off the pace despite enjoying more than 60% possession on a chilly afternoon in southwest London.
Although they buzzed around the Bournemouth area and created chances for Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic, Frank Lampard’s side could not find a decisive shot.
Bournemouth keeper Aaron Ramsdale pulled off fine saves in each half from Mount and full back Emerson to keep the south coast side in the game.
It was the fourth defeat in five Premier League games for Chelsea, who sit fourth in the table. Lampard suggested during the week that the club would be looking for a striker in the January transfer window.
NORWICH HOLD LEICESTER TO A SURPRISE 1-1 DRAW
Norwich City boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League after a spirited performance saw them hold high-flying Leicester City to a pulsating 1-1 draw on Saturday.
The result snapped Leicester’s eight-match winning streak, leaving them second in the table on 39 points from 17 games, 10 behind runaway leaders Liverpool who marched on with a 2-0 home win over Watford in the lunchtime kick-off.
Teemu Pukki gave Watford a 25th minute lead with a clinical finish before visiting keeper Tim Krul scored an own goal in the 37th, failing to clear a Jamie Vardy header as the league’s top scorer got on the end of a James Maddison corner.
Both sides came close in the opening exchanges as Krul tipped a Youri Tielemans shot on to the woodwork before Pukki fired wide from a good position barely a minute later.
Vardy missed a pair of gilt-edged chances to complete Leicester’s comeback before the home side were twice let off the hook in the closing stages.
Livewire Pukki saw a shot blocked by Ricardo Pereira and the home team’s centre back Caglar Soyuncu cleared a Christoph Zimmermann effort off the line from the resulting corner.
REUTERS