Frank Lampard finally won his first game after six attempts as Chelsea caretaker manager with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth. The Blues have breached the all important 40-point mark in the Premier League, meaning that the club are now safe from relegation.
While it was unlikely that they would drop out of the top-flight, the west Londoners were really struggling to get points on the board. Conor Gallagher opened the scoring for Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium with a well-placed header, before Matias Vina equalised for the Cherries moments later in spectacular fashion.
The Blues looked poised to settle for a point until Benoit Badiashile offered his side fresh hope inside the final 10 minutes. Joao Felix then extended Chelsea's lead to two-goals in the dying embers of the clash with a delicately placed effort.
READ MORE: Chelsea reach unwanted £1bn Premier League landmark as huge Todd Boehly task outlined
So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how the national media reacted to Chelsea's defeat.
The Guardian
"It was hardly all sunshine and roses for Chelsea and it has not been for a while," wrote Ben Fisher. "A section of their supporters booed the second-half arrivals of Hakim Ziyech and Raheem Sterling and at another point they made their feelings plain about Todd Boehly, the under-fire Chelsea chairman who is gaining caricature status by the week and whose £600m investment continues to show little return.
"April was so bleak for Chelsea – they scored one goal in a run of six defeats in seven games – that their in-house goal of the month competition only featured players from the academy and women’s teams. No wonder Lampard said his players would savour the victory."
The Express
"After Sterling was substituted on for Mudryk on the hour mark, there were clear voices of discontent from the travelling Chelsea faithful as they booed his arrival to the pitch," wrote Jack McEachen. "The England star has struggled since his big-money move from Manchester City this summer, as Blues fans have clearly lost patience with the forward and preferred the Ukrainian to stay on the pitch.
"However, Lampard's substitutions proved useful on the day as Ziyech provided the ball for the second goal and then Felix shortly after stepping on the pitch got the Blues' third goal after Sterling had driven into the box to set the Portuguese forward up."
Daily Mail
"The mood was definitely toxic. Todd Boehly’s name was invoked from the Chelsea end with a choice Chaucerian insult added," wrote Rob Draper. "There was support proffered for Roman Abramovich, an oligarch sanctioned for enabling Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. And when Raheem Sterling and Hakim Ziyech came on they were roundly booed from the Chelsea end.
"Safe to say, all was not well for Chelsea here until the 82nd minute. There was nervousness on the ball, they were disorganised when repelling counter attacks and there was little to suggest a run of six successive defeats was coming to an end. As such, the darkening ambiance among the travelling support fitted the occasion.
"That said, it’s amazing what a couple of goals and your first win since March 11th can do. ‘We are staying up!’ was the delighted response from the Chelsea fans, ironically delivered but factually true: they are now pretty much safe from relegation, a huge goal difference swing aside, so that’s one milestone that Boehly can tick off in this mother of all meltdown seasons."
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