Football: Chelsea back to winning ways against Bournemouth

LONDON -- Chelsea manager Graham Potter praised the Blues' reaction to a poor run prior to the World Cup as they eased past Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday to end a five-game winless streak in the Premier League.

Kai Havertz and Mason Mount struck inside the first 24 minutes to get Chelsea back in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions League.

Victory took Chelsea up to eighth and within six points of the top four.

"You have to use breaks as best you can," Potter told Amazon Prime. "Evaluate and reassess and get injured players back. We used it as best we could even with players coming back at different times."

However, victory came at a cost as defender Reece James limped off on his return from the knee injury which kept him out of England’s World Cup campaign.

James cruised through the first half but called for a substitution early in the second and looked disconsolate as he pointed to his knee before going to ground.

"You can see his quality. It's a blow for us," added Potter. "I'm not sure on the state of the injury. It's too early to say."

Potter, aiming to avoid overseeing a fourth consecutive Chelsea league defeat for the first time since 1998, handed Denis Zakaria his Premier League debut.

The Swiss midfielder broke forward well to drive Chelsea up the pitch in the first half, while the effervescent attacking duo of Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic led the Bournemouth defence on a merry dance.

Sterling provided the opener with an incisive low cross to the back post where Havertz slid in to convert in the 16th minute.

Mount doubled the lead with a well-taken drive from the edge of the box as Chelsea stepped up another gear before Pulisic had another goal disallowed for a foul by Havertz in the build-up.

After three games in all competitions without scoring a goal, the Blues were determined to end their disappointing streak and get their season back on track.

Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers did well to deny James after a dynamic burst forward, then made an even better save to foil Sterling before the break to keep his team in the game.

Havertz fired wide and Mount forced Travers into a smart low stop as Chelsea tried to put the game out of sight.

In the end they didn't need to as Bournemouth failed to threaten other than Jaidon Anthony's late free-kick that was beaten away by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

"We won't be measured on games at Chelsea," said Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil.

"You need everything to go for you. The response to being 2-0 down, they showed incredible belief we could get something from the game."

A fifth defeat in six league games leaves Bournemouth just three points above the relegation zone.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Havertz and Pulisic earn Chelsea 2-0 win over Lille

LONDON - Goals in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic earned defending champions Chelsea a solid 2-0 first-leg victory over Lille in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, but the London side will be concerned about injuries to key players.

Germany forward Havertz, who had already had two attempts on goal early in the game, headed down a Hakim Ziyech corner in the eighth minute and the ball bounced high off the turf into the net.

Chelsea left struggling striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench and it was American Pulisic who hit the second in the 63rd minute with a curling finish after N'Golo Kante's surging run and pinpoint pass.

The action was at times frenetic as Ligue 1 champions Lille sought to take something from the game into the second leg at home on March 16.

"They played good football and the first half was very difficult for us. Now it is halftime and the next game we have to win as well," Havertz told BT Sport.

The French side, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Salzburg, VfL Wolfsburg and Sevilla, kept Chelsea busy going forward with buzzing runs from Renato Sanches, Benjamin Andre and Jonathan Bamba.

But efforts from all three and from Canadian striker Jonathan David were either blocked, usually by defensive rock Thiago Silva, or collected easily by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

Chelsea, who face Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, may be satisfied with their two-goal lead in the tie but they will be concerned for the fitness of pivotal midfielder Mateo Kovacic and of in-form Ziyech who both limped off early in the second half.

Thomas Tuchel's side are on an exhausting run of games with matches this month played or scheduled in five competitions.

They won the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi 10 days ago and injured trio Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi paraded the trophy round Stamford Bridge before kickoff.

They also won games in the FA Cup and Premier League before Tuesday's game and Sunday's final at Wembley.

"We did not play our best football," Havertz said. "We could not get the aggressiveness of the last few weeks but we won 2-0 and that is the most important thing. Sunday is another competition and we have to focus on that now."

(Reporting by Clare LovellEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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