London, Dec 31 (IANS) Chelsea and AFC Bournemouth played out an enthralling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, with all four goals being scored inside the opening 27 minutes.
A draw meant Chelsea missed the chance to leapfrog Liverpool into fourth place, while Bournemouth remain 15th after their winless league run was extended to 10 matches, despite putting in an impressive performance. This was the Cherries’ fourth draw in their last five matches.
The action all came in the first 45 minutes during a first half played at a furious pace, with plenty of chances at both ends of the pitch.
It was the visitors who struck first when David Brooks scrambled in at the second attempt from a long throw-in, but Chelsea soon levelled it up. Estevao Willian was clipped in the box by Antoine Semenyo and Cole Palmer slotted in from the penalty spot.
Chelsea took the lead when Enzo Fernandez fired a brilliant finish into the top corner, only to see parity restored by Justin Kluivert from another Bournemouth long throw into our area.
It was Chelsea who were pushing hardest for a winning goal in the second half, as the Cherries seemed to run out of gas after those early exertions, but despite those efforts there would be no further goals as the points were shared.
In another match, James Garner scored one and set up another as a depleted Everton side defied the odds to beat Nottingham Forest 2-0.
Garner, who previously spent time on loan at Forest, struck with an early opener before then turning provider in the 79th minute as he set up Thierno Barry to score his second Everton goal.
Forest toiled to no avail, with Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Dilane Bakwa going close, but Sean Dyche’s team have now lost three straight Premier League games and sit just four points above the relegation zone.
While Forest remain 17th, Everton have moved up to eighth after snapping a three-game winless streak.
–IANS
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