Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson were paired in midfield for the first time as Chelsea produced their most complete performance of the season in a 5-1 victory over Bournemouth. Henderson scored his first two goals for the club, opening with a curling effort after 66 seconds and adding a 25-yard free-kick, while also setting up Joao Pedro for the second goal. At 36, he became the third-oldest Chelsea player to score and assist in the same match, behind only Didier Drogba and Gianfranco Zola.
Caicedo, making his 150th appearance, lasted 72 minutes, misplacing just two passes and recording the highest pass-completion rate of any Chelsea starter, while making and winning more tackles than any other player. Despite conceding again through poor set-piece defending, Alonso praised the duo for providing the control and stability needed behind the attacking trio of Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers. Chelsea have scored 15 goals in six matches but have conceded more than they have scored in the league campaign.
With Caicedo in the side, Chelsea have won 48.1% of their Premier League matches; without him, that figure drops to 25%. Henderson arrived on a free transfer from Brentford to add experience to the Premier League's youngest squad, and Alonso said he signed him for everything, adding that today’s performance was very complete and showed good defensive stability.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing