Dominic Solanke, Nathan Aké and Bournemouth rescue Chelsea’s top-four hopes, for now

Dominic Solanke has scored his biggest senior Chelsea goal, three years after leaving the club in 2017. The one-time Academy standout, the 2014-15 Academy Player of the Year, who used to pour in the goals alongside current Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham as a teenager, broke his Premier League duck for AFC Bournemouth as the Cherries recorded a massive 4-1 win over Leicester City in Sunday Night Football.

The loss means that Chelsea stay above Leicester City by a single point — in third for now, but could drop to fourth if Manchester United beat Southampton tomorrow, as expected. The Blues are thus somehow not really made to pay for the atrocious effort against Sheffield United.

It didn’t look too promising for the Cherries, or the Blues, in the first half, as Leicester City were firmly in control and opened the scoring via the league’s leading goalscorer, Jamie Vardy. It would’ve been worse, too, were it not for a goalsaving tackle by Nathan Aké just before half-time, in which the other former Chelsea Academy graduate unfortunately ended up hurting himself.

But whatever was said at half-time made a difference, as the home side came out with much better intent. Still, they needed a bizarre penalty to draw level (Kasper Schmeichel doing his best “Poor Clearance By Kepa” impression and hitting his kick into the back of Wilfried Ndidi, who then gave away a penalty in trying to prevent a goal), before Dominic Solanke scored a most unlikely goal, his first in the Premier League for Bournemouth in 39 tries.

And then Solanke got a second as well, because football is weird.

The make matters worse for Leicester, Çağlar Söyüncü got sent off for kicking out at Callum Wilson after Solanke’s first goal, and will now likely miss the rest of the season with a three-match ban for violent conduct.

So, Chelsea get the slice of luck we needed after yesterday. Now, let’s not waste it. Norwich City are up next, at the Bridge on Tuesday.