LONDON: Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea in the Premier League on Tuesday, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Two goals from long throws and jittery defending proved Chelsea's undoing and they failed to climb back into the top four in the standings with one win in their last seven games.
It took six minutes for Bournemouth to shock the home side when David Brooks knocked in a shot that had ricocheted off home goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a long throw.
Cole Palmer stepped up to equalise from the spot in the 15th minute after a delayed VAR check for a foul in the box on Estevao by Antoine Semenyo.
Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a sidestep and bullet shot eight minutes later as the action ran end-to-end with chances for Liam Delap and Estevao at one end and Marcus Tavernier and Brooks at the other.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, knocking home a miscued header from Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah after another Semenyo throw.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana said his side had tried to give everything.
"But when you concede two goals in that manner, it makes things complicated at this level. We just didn't see the game out in the second half, we were making chances but didn't score so it was difficult," he told the BBC.
From the half-hour mark the game calmed down as Chelsea took more control but their 67.3% possession failed to translate into goals as they buzzed ineffectually around the Bournemouth goal.
Both sides had 17 shots overall with the best second-half chances for Estevao, who saw his effort expertly saved by former Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic, and Bournemouth substitute Enes Unal who fired over in stoppage time.
Disappointed home fans, who watched their side defeated by Aston Villa three days ago, booed at the final whistle.
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