d Marcos Alonso’s double rescued a point for Chelsea as the Blues drew 2-2 to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Frank Lampard’s side looked to win successive Premier League games for the first time since the opening week of November 2019, meanwhile Eddie Howe looked to win his first game against a ‘top five’ side since the Cherries beat the Blues in December.
The Blues opened the scoring through Alonso having followed up Olivier Giroud’s effort that bounced off the crossbar.
Bournemouth launched out the blocks into the second half with two goals in quick succession. Jefferson Lerma levelled the score line before Josh King put the Cherries in front. Alonso then rescued a point for the Blues with a header in the dying minutes.
Failing to take advantage
The Blues looked to take advantage of Leicester City's loss to Norwich City the evening before, however, failed to do so once again.
Lampard's side could have reduced the gap between third and fourth to just three points as well as adding increased pressure on Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their clash with Wolves.
Chelsea looked to have enjoyed their afternoon on the South coast having taken an early lead. The Blues conceded soon into the second half failed to keep a clean sheet.
Alonso the unsung hero
Alonso has been unearthed as Chelsea's new hero of late with a goal against Spurs and two against the Cherries.
The Spaniard has not been a fan favourite but under Lampard in a back five, Alonso has performed well.
Dion Dublin described the left back as 'world-class' in BBC Sport's live feed following the game. The 29-year-old is making a case for a finding a place in Lampard's starting eleven, keeping out Italian defender Emerson.
Big point for Cherries
The Cherries are in a relegation dog fight and a point over fourth placed Chelsea is a massive morale booster as Howe leads the South coast side into the final ten games of the season.
Bournemouth could still find themselves in the bottom three come the end of the weekend which could spell danger as they face five of the top six in their last ten games.
Howe's side also face none of the teams below or within a point in the final ten games.
Lampard's thoughts
Lampard began his post-match press conference by claiming he has mixed emotions about the result but thinks his side should have won.
"[I have] mixed emotions," he began, "I am happy with the reaction when we went behind but I think overall we should have won.
"The leap from Bournemouth's Lerma was a good one for their first goal but I am not happy with the manner in which we conceded the second goal."
The Blues manager then added he was impressed by Alonso's performance and how he reacted when he has not been in the team.