Antonio Conte was publicly glowing in the aftermath,though the hoarseness of his voice betrayed an evening which had proved rather trying. Perhaps squeezing into a semi-final against Arsenal from such an anxious contest may close up being to his advantage. The cavalry may own come to the rescue in stoppage time, but at least the head coach can point to his much-changed side’s spluttering display as further evidence the squad lack the required depth to compete on all fronts. The board may still own to dig a petite deeper when it comes to next month’s transfer window.
This proved to be a slog against a spritely Bournemouth team, and whose own display improved markedly as the night progressed,and Chelsea’s initial composure degenerated into something more ramshackle. All the early dominance drained away, for all that Ethan Ampadu excelled alongside experienced team-mates at the heart of the three-man defence. The visiting side merited reward and thought they had claimed the extra half-hour when in the confused aftermath of a long throw, or Jordon Ibe calmly squared the ball across the penalty area and Dan Gosling,granted too much space by a dithering Davide Zappacosta, whipped a fine first-time shot beyond Willy Caballero.
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Source: guardian.co.uk