Premier League10 Oct 20262 minute read

Henderson Shines as Chelsea Put Five Past Bournemouth

Jordan Henderson scored twice and set up another as Chelsea swept Bournemouth aside 5-1.

The EagleEyeOdds deskWritten from the match data, checked against our model before it goes out

Veteran midfielder steals the spotlight

Jordan Henderson took centre stage on a day when Cole Palmer committed his future to Chelsea with an eight year deal. Henderson arrived on a free transfer from Brentford during the summer to add leadership to a young squad. At 36 years of age, he rolled back the years against Bournemouth with two goals and an assist.

Chelsea struck almost immediately. There were only 65 seconds on the clock when Palmer found Henderson, who crashed a first time strike in off the post. Just over a minute later, Henderson set up Morgan Rogers, whose shot deflected off António Silva and sailed into the net.

Alonso and Rose react to five goal rout

Chelsea maintained their pace early in the second half. João Pedro scored just 40 seconds after the restart. Evanilson pulled a goal back for Bournemouth, but João Pedro added his second of the match before Henderson finished things off with a curled free kick.

Xabi Alonso was pleased with the veteran midfielder. "We signed him for everything," Alonso said. "If he's able to score two beauties like today we are more than happy for him. But apart from the goals he's done many good things. I think that today was a very complete performance."

Alonso could not explain his team's habit of scoring early. "I have nothing to do with it, so I don't have the answer," Alonso admitted. "We always speak about how we try to start the game well and give good energy, but I have no explanation, no credit to me."

Bournemouth had previously lost only once in 13 visits to London, but they remain winless in six games under Marco Rose. The German head coach took the blame. "We played not good, so a deserved loss, especially the way we started both halves," Rose said. "It's my responsibility, and we have to do better."

What it means for the next game

Chelsea carry strong attacking form into their next Premier League fixture.

Everton vs Chelsea (Premier League, Sat, 17 Oct): Everton win 36%, draw 26%, Chelsea win 38%; expected goals 1.46 to 1.51. Our safest pick: Over 1.5 goals.