Christopher Nkunku was the matchwinner for Chelsea in their 1-0 victory against Bournemouth in the English Premier League (EPL).
A few minutes after coming on as a substitute, Nkunku ensured Chelsea left Bournemouth with all points in consecutive matches at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
The last match of the day was an entertaining encounter bereft of goals until Nkunku’s strike four minutes to the end of the pulsating game.
Bournemouth dominated early on but failed to take their chances. Marcus Tavernier hit the woodwork 22 yards out, Evanilson went close from a header, and Chelsea goalkeeper Roberto Sanchez denied Justin Kluivert.
The goalkeeper would switch between hero and villain in minutes, first conceding a penalty when he brought down Evanilson before brilliantly saving the attacker’s spot-kick to keep the scores level at the break.
The Cherries continued to dominate the chances in the second period, and Sanchez had to tip Ryan Christie’s effort onto the bar before Nkunku won it for Enzo Maresca’s side late in the encounter.
The injury-ravaged French forward created space after collecting Jadon Sancho’s pass and prodded home a neat finish to snatch all three points for the Blues.
With seven points after four matches, Chelsea are in seventh place, while Bournemouth stay 11th with five points.
In earlier matches, Manchester United won 3-0 at Southampton, with Andre Onana saving a penalty kick before goals by Matias de Ligt, Marcus Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho won the Red Devils their second game of the season.
Manchester City maintained their 100% record thanks to Erling Haaland’s brace in a 2-1 win over Brentford. Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season with a 1-0 loss at Anfield to Nottingham Forest.
Everton surrendered a two-goal lead for the second successive match, losing 3-2 at Aston Villa.
RESULTS
Southampton 0-3 Manchester United
Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace 2-2 Leicester City
Fulham 1-1 West Ham United
Brighton 0-0 Ipswich Town
Aston Villa 3-2 Everton
Manchester City 2-1 Brentford
Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea
[TheCable]