Chelsea highlights and analysis: Top four hopes on a knife-edge for Antonio Conte as Olivier Giroud watches on

Simon Johnson1 February 2018

Bournemouth scored three goals in 16 remarkable second-half minutes to record a sensational 3-0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening.

Callum Wilson opened the scoring for the visitors shortly after the interval before Junior Stanislas doubled their lead with 64 minutes on the clock.

Former Chelsea defender Nathan Ake then netted a third moments later to stun Antonio Conte's toothless side on a night to forget for the Premier League champions.

Simon Johnson assesses the key talking points for Chelsea...

Giroud will fancy his chances of a quick debut

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Having completed an £18m switch from Arsenal a few hours before, Giroud got to watch his new team-mates in action from the Chelsea dug-out.

He hasn't played much for Arsenal this term, but it will surely be a different story at Stamford Bridge.

A lack of first team football was a key reason for him wanting to quit Emirates Stadium, however that won't be so much of an issue in west London.

Alvaro Morata is struggling with a back problem and a lack of confidence, while previous understudy Michy Batshuayi is now on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

With Eden Hazard struggling to find the room to shine as a 'false nine' this evening, Giroud has a good opportunity to play against Watford in their next game on Monday night.

Losing Christensen is a major blow

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Christensen has been Chelsea's best player this season so the sight of him going off with a hamstring problem in the first half will worry coach Antonio Conte.

The Denmark international brings calm and solidity in equal measure when he is on the pitch.

It was noticeable after he limped off, just how jittery the home side became at the back.

The nature of Bournemouth's goals summed it up. With captain Gary Cahill now in the middle of three back three, his lack of pace was more exposed.

It didn't help that Tiemoue Bakayoko gave the ball away for the first, but Callum Wilson found it far too easy to sprint in behind to finish. The same could be said for the two goals that followed.

Conte will hope that Christensen's problem is only minor, given Barcelona visit in three weeks times or that David Luiz is soon available following an ankle problem.

Ake enjoys his return to Stamford Bridge

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When Chelsea decided to cash in on Ake in the summer, the news was met with a mixed reception.

On one hand, Ake was sold to Bournemouth for £20m - a tidy sum for someone that had barely featured for the senior side since progressing from the youth ranks.

Yet this was a young Dutch international with huge potential and had shown great maturity whether on loan or on the few occasions he wore a Chelsea shirt.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Bournemouth | 31/01/2018

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He certainly showed all his cool and quality against his former club this evening. As the home side laboured in attack, Ake took great delight in intercepting a pass here or making a tackle there.

To rub salt into the wounds, he added the third with a neat finish after a shot deflected into his path.

Chelsea have spent £50m in the January transfer window, but they maybe regretting not giving this youngster a proper chance rather than taking Bournemouth's money.

Chelsea's top four hopes on a knife-edge

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Cahill told Standard Sport in November that the race to qualify for the Champions League could go to the wire and that certainly looks the case.

Every time Chelsea manage to build a bit of a cushion over the teams around them, like Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal, they slip up.

With tough trips to Manchester United and Manchester City to be played over the next five weeks ago, the last thing they needed was to lose momentum against a side fighting relegation.

The result will lift Tottenham and Liverpool's spirits too. Spurs in fifth have closed to within two points, while Liverpool are above them on goal difference.

And Chelsea could be out of the top four by the time they face Watford on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must have thought Chelsea could not be caught after losing themselves to Swansea, but they have remained just eight back.

Hudson-Odoi only one to have something savour

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The Chelsea youngster was given a token run out for his professional debut against Newcastle on Sunday.

Conte's side were cruising through to the FA Cup Fifth Round at the time so there was no harm in Conte bringing him on with a few minutes to go.

But Hudson-Odoi was given a huge vote of confidence when Conte turned to him with Chelsea trailing 2-0 and with 25 minutes remaining on the clock.

He even provided some of the rare sparks in Chelsea attack and forced Asmir Begovic to make a save, which brought a round of applause from the home fans that hadn't opted to make an early exit.

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