Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, extending their winless run in the Premier League since early December.
The Blues fell behind inside six minutes when a dangerous corner was flicked onto David Brooks. His initial header was saved by Robert Sanchez, but Brooks reacted quickly to poke the ball over the line, giving the visitors an early lead.
Chelsea responded almost immediately. A penalty was initially denied when Estevao went down under Antoine Semenyo’s challenge, but VAR intervened, and Cole Palmer converted the spot-kick with a low, precise strike past Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea then went ahead in the 22nd minute, with Enzo Fernandez curling a powerful shot into the top corner after smart build-up play from Alejandro Garnacho. However, Bournemouth equalised again five minutes later when Justin Kluivert tapped in at the back post following a long throw that had been inadvertently flicked on by a Chelsea defender.
The first half continued at a frantic pace, with Sanchez making a couple of key saves, and Estevao seeing a header go wide just before the break.
In the second half, the tempo slowed, though Chelsea had chances. Liam Delap headed over the bar after a quick counter led by Palmer and substitute Joao Pedro, who would later draw boos from the Stamford Bridge crowd when he replaced Palmer around the 60th minute. Estevao remained a constant threat, and Petrovic made another smart save to deny him.
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Chelsea pressed for a winner in the final 20 minutes. Petrovic blocked a near-post header from Wesley Fofana, and Fernandez lifted a good chance over the bar from 12 yards. Despite their late pressure, Maresca’s side could not break the deadlock and were met with boos at full-time.
The draw leaves Chelsea at risk of dropping out of the Premier League’s top five depending on other results this week. They will also be without midfielder Moises Caicedo for their upcoming trip to Manchester City after he picked up his fifth booking of the season.