Dan Gosling admitted that the win at Chelsea only came because the team put in a 95 minute performance. They ran and closed down, won tackles and headers and made passes work for them. It was not a disjointed performance, but a total performance. It is something that has been missing, but it has to be the standard now for future games.
You probably have to go back to the game against Manchester United to see Bournemouth put in a game where they kept ticking over all the way through the game. The Cherries know that they can't afford to put in performances at the best level only once a month - it just won't be enough points.
It may be that the game against Chelsea saw players that were fitter than any of the recent sides that Howe has been able to put out. Lewis Cook, Simon Francis and Dan Gosling all had a few matches to get back into the swing of things and weren't introduced cold. Eddie Howe also said early in the week that King was in line for a return, and he'd only say that if he was really confident that King was ready to step straight back in.
Having a fully fit team sounds like a must, but players do play with knocks and aren't always able to give their best physically. I thought Ryan Fraser ran much harder at Stamford Bridge than he has in recent weeks and he was one that has played himself back into form. The important thing now is that the players don't drop back on those standards and go on a good run this December to make up for what has gone before.
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| Bournemouth were hyped up to performa against Chelsea, where they had done well before. |
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