Chelsea's hope for a better future is ultimately bolstered by Noni Madueke's brilliant performance.
Chelsea's losing streak under Frank Lampard came to an end thanks to Madueke's superb performance versus Bournemouth.
Since returning, the interim manager's terrible run of six straight losses came to a stop with a victory on the south coast.
For once, Chelsea's notorious goal-scoring inefficiency was not evident, and Noni Madueke's strong performance was encouraging for the Englishman's future at the club.
The winger's deception exemplified the manner they took chances and prevented them from matching a club record seventh straight loss as a result.
Chelsea performed admirably at the Vitality Stadium in gloomy conditions against a Bournemouth team that, thanks to its recent energetic performances, has put some distance between itself and the relegation zone.
Having scored his first goal for the team in the embarrassing 3-1 loss to Arsenal four days prior, he was the only attacking player to keep his spot. He was bought from PSV in January.
Although the England U21 international failed to score or provide an assist on the south coast, Bournemouth's defense was unable to stop him thanks to his darting runs to the byline and into the box.
Between July 2019 and January 2021, during Lampard's tenure as Chelsea's permanent manager, he invested heavily in the team's young English players, giving youngsters like Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, and Mason Mount numerous opportunities.
In this situation, Lampard will have felt justified in sticking with Madueke—a decision he will rarely feel justified in making during his so far disastrous second stint as Chelsea manager.
Chelsea was finally able to taste victory for the first time in ten games thanks to Conor Gallagher's early header and goals from Benoit Badiashile and substitute Joao Felix in the closing stages.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was unable to save Matias Vina's stunning first-half equalizer for Bournemouth. In the end, Chelsea had something to show their devoted traveling fans, thanks to their tenacity, Madueke's inventiveness, and - at last - Lampard's sound judgment.
They finally reach 40 points after remaining at 39 for little under two months.
The question is if it portends a shift in the club's ownership from Todd Boehly to Lampard rather than Lampard's caretaker period. They need to build on this unusually happy afternoon.
