Chelsea continued their 100 per cent record in the Premier League under Maurizio Sarri with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
Second-half strikes from substitute Pedro and Eden Hazard settled a tight contest at Stamford Bridge and made it four victories from four games in 2018-19.
Bournemouth had defended stoutly throughout and could easily have scored themselves before Pedro’s shot deflected into the net 18 minutes from time.
Chelsea assumed early control with close to 85 per cent of the possession in the first 20 minutes, but a half-chance for Alvaro Morata that was blocked by Asmir Begovic was the best they could muster.
Bournemouth should have gone ahead half an hour in when Callum Wilson sent the ball over the bar after being picked out in space by debutant Diego Rico, but they rode their luck on the stroke of half-time when Marcos Alonso’s mishit effort with his right foot struck the base of the left-hand post.
Former Chelsea man Nathan Ake spurned a glorious chance to break the deadlock early in the second half, failing to connect properly with the ball from barely a yard out, as Bournemouth continued to frustrate the Blues.
It proved to be a costly miss, though. After linking up with fellow substitute Olivier Giroud, Pedro turned past Ake and fired the ball beyond Begovic from the edge of the area, with the deflection off Steve Cook taking it beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Hazard combined with Alonso to drill home a second five minutes from time and lift Chelsea level with Liverpool on 12 points from a possible 12, while Bournemouth are sixth after their first defeat of the season.