Bournemouth 0 Chelsea 1: Eden Hazard scores winner for Blues

He’s not scored since coming back from a short injury break, but you can see exactly why Antonio Conte prefers him to lead the front-line despite Michy Batshuayi scoring twice when he came off the bench to snatch a lucky win against Watford last weekend. 

While his goal drought continues, it was his sharp brain that set Eden Hazard free to ensure the Blues didn’t slip to a third league defeat in a row for the first time this century. 

Simon Francis made a horlicks of dealing with Morata’s chip with an air shot that sent him tumbling as the Belgian star skipped away to beat Asmir Begovic at his near post. 

Six goals – including a hat-trick at Stoke – in his first half dozen Premier League games, made him Morata an instant hero with Blues’ fans. 

But that scoring touch has deserted him since he limped off with a hamstring problem in the home defeat against Manchester City at the end of September. 

Here, he should have gone off at half-time clutching a second match ball of his brief British career. 

His first chance was an absolute gift. Cherries’ keeper Begovic’s blundering clearance went straight to Hazard and the midfielder put Morata in the clear with only the Bosnian stopper to beat. 

He managed that – but his shot slipped inches wide of the post. There was another letoff for Begovic when he spilled a shot and Morata snapped up the loose ball but ref Craig Pawson scrubbed it off for a hugely debatable offside. 

Then Morata turned a defender and strolled past another, before firing against Begovic’s leg. 

Conte had voiced his annoyance during the week at media reports casting doubt on his future at the club, but denied the result was a chance to “send a message” to his critics. 

“We didn’t want to send a message, it’s not right to send a message,” he said. Opposite number Eddie Howe admitted his side had let themselves be dominated in the first half. “We can’t underestimate their quality, they’re an outstanding team,” he said.