Winless in five games heading into this one (D1, L4), Bournemouth set about putting that right with a positive start that placed Chelsea firmly on the back foot.
In fact, the home fans were celebrating after just four minutes when Antoine Semenyo thought he’d ended his six-game run without a goal contribution, side-footing home a loose ball only to be denied by a marginal Evanilson offside in the build-up.
The Blues eventually recovered from a shaky start, yet exciting attacking play remained in short supply, not helped by an enforced alteration as the injured Liam Delap headed straight down the tunnel after 32 minutes.
The Cherries still looked the likelier to break the first-half deadlock, and they came incredibly close to doing so 10 minutes before the break when Robert Sánchez touched Semenyo’s low strike into the path of Evanilson, who couldn’t direct on target while sliding in the six-yard box.
As HT arrived, there’s no doubt Andoni Iraola will have been the happier of the two managers, with Enzo Maresca’s side failing to muster a shot on target, and the hosts ending the half on the offensive.
Fortunately for the travelling support, it didn’t take long after the restart for Chelsea to show some purpose in attack, peppering former goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović’s goal with several attempts in quick succession, the best of which struck the post via the head of Alejandro Garnacho.
The game was hanging in the balance as the hour mark approached, yet an injury to Marcos Senesi, who had been exceptional to that point, threatened to upset the balance for Bournemouth.
Chelsea had failed to score in just one of their 14 PL matches this season, but a lack of spark in forward areas combined with a few hairy moments at the back, including a ferocious late strike from Semenyo that forced a save from Sánchez, meant that the Blues could have few complaints about a draw.
The result leaves Bournemouth winless in eight PL H2Hs (D4, L4), and although an encouraging performance here will go some way to lifting spirits, one point leaves them in the bottom half of the table.
As for Chelsea, five dropped points in two games sees them trail leaders Arsenal by eight points, with tentative title aspirations looking fanciful as the Blues sit fourth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth)
