Henderson at the double as Chelsea sweep Bournemouth aside 5-1
Chelsea beat Bournemouth 5-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 10 October, for their first league win in four games, according to The Guardian.
It was over almost before it started. Jordan Henderson curled Chelsea ahead after just 66 seconds. Two and a half minutes in, he set up Morgan Rogers for the second. The game was played at Stamford Bridge, The Times reported.
Those were Henderson's first two goals for Chelsea. He finished the scoring with a 25-yard free-kick to complete the 5-1 win. The live blog timed his goals in the 2nd and 70th minutes, BBC Sport noted.
It took 66 seconds. Then he did it again.
At 36, Henderson became the third-oldest player to score and assist in the same match for Chelsea, behind Didier Drogba and Gianfranco Zola, BBC Sport reported. It was his home debut for the club after joining on a free transfer from Brentford. He had only just recovered from a broken arm sustained jumping over an advertising hoarding while celebrating England's win over Mexico at the World Cup.
Joao Pedro scored twice in the victory, The Times reported. He played as part of an attacking trio with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers under manager Xabi Alonso.
Behind them, Moises Caicedo and Henderson started together in midfield for the first time. It was Caicedo's 150th appearance for Chelsea. He played 72 minutes before Romeo Lavia replaced him.
Caicedo ran the middle. He misplaced just two passes, the highest pass-completion rate of any Chelsea starter, and made and won more tackles than any other Chelsea player. Chelsea have won 48.1% of Premier League matches with Caicedo in the side, compared to 25% without him.
Chelsea arrived with a strange record. They had scored 15 goals from six matches this season. They had also conceded 13 league goals, the most of any team at that point.
What makes this stand out is the mix Alonso chose. Chelsea had not signed a player aged over 30 since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2022. This summer they added experience, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa and striker Danny Welbeck alongside Henderson. Alonso had confirmed before the game that Caicedo was fit to face Bournemouth and described him as generous, Chelsea FC reported.
For fans, this means a noisy afternoon and a table that looks kinder. Attack clicked. Defence held enough. And a 36-year-old newcomer left with the match ball story.
