Chelsea finished their tumultuous season with a remarkable fifth consecutive Premier League win, securing their spot in European football next season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s future with the club is uncertain and is expected to be determined after meetings with the team’s leader to evaluate the progress made under his leadership.
Caicedo scored the first goal of the match during the first half, making the most of a mistake by a goalkeeper Neto. The goal was one of the season’s highlights and was a fitting end to Caicedo’s debut season in West London. His impressive performance during the last five games has been reflective of the team’s progress under Pochettino.
After a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Arsenal on April 23, it seemed like the Argentinian’s plan to rebuild Chelsea was doomed. However, his team managed to secure 16 points from their last six games, putting in performances that far exceeded those of the early days of his tenure.
Raheem Sterling scored the second goal just after the break, which deflected in off Neto to help Chelsea seal the sixth spot.
Despite a valiant effort from Bournemouth, who managed to pull one back through Enes Unal, they were unable to secure a point. Unless Manchester United triumphs over City at the FA Cup final on May 25, Chelsea will qualify for the Europa League.
If United wins at Wembley, Chelsea will still get a spot in the Conference League.
Chelsea began the game with great energy with Neto making a fantastic left-handed save at his near post to deny Nicholas Jackson.
Premier League Young Player of the Season, Cole Palmer, missed a shot wide after a great run fro Sterling. Conor Gallagher also missed an opportunity to score after Caicedo’s excellent work to win the ball back in midfield.
Caicedo then scored from almost the same spot to give his team the lead after 17 minutes. Neto sprinted from his goal to stop Sterling’s advance, but he had more time than he realized. Caicedo had to work hard to get ahead of the goalkeeper’s stray pass. Once he had control of the ball, the home crowd cheered him on to try the unlikely. From just a yard inside the Bournemouth half, Caicedo launched a powerful kick that dropped in under the crossbar, making it 1-0.
Bournemouth dominated the first half. Kluivert missed a shot from 18 yards and Tavernier weaved across the field before taking a shot that Petrovic saved and held onto well.
Unal missed a great opportunity at the start of the second half when he couldn’t quite reach Lewis Cook’s fast ball across the ball, a chance they would soon regret.
Just a minute later, Sterling charged into their box from the left and attempted a square ball that ended up deflecting off Neto and into the goal.
Unal responded quickly with a left-footed shot that bounced past Petrovic and off the outstretched foot of Benoit Badiashile to level the score.
Bournemouth put in more effort but they were unable to break through Chelsea’s defense and find the crucial goal they eeded to win.
Nkunku came off the bench and headed over from 12 yards, while Petrovic made a great save to deny Ouattara as Solanke missed a golden opportunity to salvage a point for Bournemouth in stoppage time.
