Chelsea earned their first Premier League win since October 16 as Kai Havertz and Mason Mount’s goals secured a 2-0 home win over Bournemouth, but the hosts’ day was soured when Reece James’ comeback was ended by injury.
James was named in the starting XI by Graham Potter as he returned from more than two months out with a knee injury and excelled for nearly an hour before going down in front of the head coach and having to be replaced.
The right-back’s exit seemed to rock Chelsea, who loosened their grip on the game and allowed Bournemouth back into the contest, but the visitors lacked the quality to trouble the Blues, who had lost their last three games without scoring a goal.
But strikes from Havertz (16) and Mount (24) before James’ injury had put Chelsea in a commanding position and they were able to see out the win to relieve the pressure on Potter and close the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham to six points, with a game in hand.
