Hazard and Alonso score great goals, Chelsea close to the throne

Coach Antonio Conte and his team moved very close to the Premier League title when they won 3-1 at Bournemouth on the evening of April 8.

Scorers: Smith (own goal, 17'), Hazard (20'), King (42'), Alonso (68')

In the early game, Tottenham beat Watford 4-0 to narrow the gap to the top to four points. However, that did not make Chelsea players nervous. Coach Antonio Conte's team remained calm and agile to easily defeat Bournemouth right at their opponent's home ground.

Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet for the ninth consecutive Premier League game. But the important thing is that the strikers have played well up front to make up for their losses. In the nine games they have conceded goals, Conte's team have won six, drawn two and lost just one.

Eden Hazard, as usual, was the standout player for Chelsea. Scoring against Bournemouth, the Belgian scored his fourth goal in three games, taking his tally of Premier League goals this season to 14 and making him a strong contender for the title of “Player of the Season”.

Coach Antonio Conte and his team are very close to winning the Premier League championship. Photo: Reuters

Bournemouth were in a safe position and took the initiative to play an open game right after the opening whistle. This made it easier for Chelsea to play and it took the visitors only 17 minutes to find the opening goal. Diego Costa's shot hit Adam Smith and changed direction, surprising goalkeeper Artur Boruc who couldn't block it and had to go into the net to retrieve the ball.

Less than three minutes later, Chelsea doubled their lead after a brilliant counter-attack. Kante played a precise long pass to Hazard, who beat goalkeeper Boruc before firing home. This was Kante's first assist in 30 Premier League appearances for Chelsea.

After conceding two goals, Bournemouth pushed up their attack. The home team was unlucky when Afobe's shot hit the post in the 29th minute. But in the 42nd minute, they finally got a goal to rekindle their hopes of getting a point. Joshua King scored a masterpiece. He shot past two defenders in front of him, sending the ball straight into the corner of the A-frame, causing goalkeeper Courtois to jump as far as he could but still be unable to save the visitors.

Hazard has scored 14 goals in the Premier League this season. Photo: Reuters

In the second half, the two teams played an exciting game of attack and counter-attack. However, the strikers wasted too many chances, only scoring one more goal. The scorer who sealed the score at 3-1 was Marcos Alonso with a beautiful free kick from outside the box, leaving goalkeeper Boruc to watch the ball go into the net.

Winning 3-1, Chelsea is very close to becoming the new champion of the Premier League. Coach Antonio Conte's team is now seven points ahead of Tottenham while the tournament has only six rounds left.

According to VNE