Chelsea ended their campaign in style by beating Bournemouth 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to be sure of European football next season.
Moises Caicedo opened the scoring after 17 minutes with possibly the goal of the season after the £115m Ecuador international found the back of the net from virtually the halfway line.
Raheem Sterling increased the hosts’ advantage three minutes into the second half, only for Bournemouth to immediately pull a goal back when Enes Unal’s strike was deflected in off the unfortunate Benoit Badiashile.
As a result, Chelsea ended the season in sixth place after a fifth straight league win for the first time since under Thomas Tuchel in April 2022, and with it a spot in next season’s Europa Conference League – although they will play in the Europa League if Man City beat Man Utd in Saturday’s FA Cup final – while Andoni Iraola’s side finish 12th in the table after a club-record Premier League points haul.
How Chelsea sealed their place in Europe next season
The Blues headed into their final game of the campaign as one of the Premier League’s in-form sides, looking for a fifth straight league win that would confirm their place in Europe next season.
And they started as such, going close twice early on through Nicolas Jackson and then Cole Palmer, before taking a deserved lead in spectacular style just past the quarter-hour mark.
There appeared little danger when Neto came racing off his line to get to Jackson’s through ball just before Raheem Sterling, only for the goalkeeper’s weak clearance, under pressure from Conor Gallagher, to be deposited back over his head by Caicedo just inside his own half for his first-ever goal for the club.
The home side doubled their lead at the start of the second period when Palmer released Sterling down the left and the England forward then powered forward before driving a weak shot through Neto at his near post.
Raheem Sterling is congratulated after scoring Chelsea’s second goal against Bournemouth
Back came Bournemouth, however, as the second half began in frantic fashion with two goals in two minutes, albeit Unal’s strike on goal did take a crucial deflection off Badiashile on its way past a stranded Djordje Petrovic.
Both teams went close to adding to the scoreline in the final quarter, with substitute Dominic Solanke’s low drive flashing inches past the far post with 10 minutes remaining, before the former Chelsea striker somehow blazed over late on with the goal at his mercy.
Moises Caicedo scores from the halfway line against Bournemouth
All that was left then was for a standing ovation for Palmer as he left the field late on, with the Premier League Young Player of the Year having been involved in his Premier League-high 33rd goal involvement of the season, including 22 goals, in setting up Sterling’s winner.
In-form Blues end campaign in style – Opta stats
- Chelsea have won five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since March 2022 under Tomas Tuchel – they last enjoyed a longer such run in the competition in November 2020 (run of six under Frank Lampard).
- Chelsea have scored 77 goals in the Premier League this season, their third-most across a single campaign in the competition, behind only 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85) – both title-winning seasons.
- Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has scored 10 goals and assisted a further four in the Premier League against Bournemouth, against no other side has he been involved in more goals in the competition (also 14 against West Ham).
- Moises Caicedo scored his first goal in the Premier League for Chelsea, while it was his first in the competition since netting against Leicester for Brighton in September 2022.
- Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino won his 150th match in the Premier League (19 with Southampton, 113 with Tottenham and 18 with Chelsea). It is the seventh fastest that a manager has reached this milestone in the competition (294 games).
What the managers said…
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino:
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Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s European place that was achieved on the final day of the season is their first step to bigger things
“I don’t know if [the meeting] is going to happen or not. On Friday night [Chelsea co-owner] Todd [Boehly] invited me for dinner. It was a very nice dinner together.
“I don’t know about the rumours about the review. My staff tomorrow are flying [on holiday]. Maybe tonight if [club bosses] decide another thing or tell us to stay, [otherwise] they’ll go for a holiday.
“I’m going to stay a few days more in London. My door is always open and my phone is going to be on.
“If I invite you alone, and you and me have a dinner, it’s not for a bad thing. If I need to tell you something, I call to go for a coffee, not for a dinner.
“Always you can improve. They’re going to be much better next season. They’re going to have one year experience, tough experience. That’s the advantage of being solid and consistent and not too many changes.
“If next season we keep 80, 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it’s a big step forward. It’s about having continuity in the ideas, and the knowledge between [the players].”
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola:
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Andoni Iraola says he enjoyed his first season managing in the Premier League, ‘even in the worst moments’
“I finish happy with the performance, maybe not with the result. We cannot ask much more of the players. We finished the game stronger than them, but we miss some clinical [finishing] in the opposition box.
“You have to appreciate [Caicedo’s goal]. It was not easy to score that goal and I have to give credit to Caicedo.”
Pochettino doesn’t deserve uncertainty over future
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Joe Shread:
“When it was pointed to Mauricio Pochettino that he had led Chelsea to five successive wins to end the season, the manager quickly pointed out it was actually “five and a half”.
“Pochettino knows that Chelsea’s late display of consistency began at half-time against Aston Villa in April, when they recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. Five wins in a row followed, propelling Chelsea into sixth and ensuring a return to European football.
“But following the final-day win over Bournemouth, Pochettino also suggested he is unsure whether he has done enough to return for the second season of his contract.
“Despite guiding a youthful and injury-hit squad into Europe and a cup final, Chelsea continue to be linked with other clubs’ managers.
“Questions were rightly asked over Pochettino’s future at points of what has been a turbulent season. The manager even admitted this week he could have been sacked after the defeat to Wolves in February.
“But since the start of 2024, Chelsea rank fourth in the Premier League, with Pochettino finally turning this bunch of talented young players into an effective unit.
Future bright for Iraola and Bournemouth
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Richard Morgan:
“Bournemouth may have ended the campaign with a third straight Premier League defeat to slip down the standings, ultimately ending the campaign outside a coveted top-10 berth and in 12th place in the table.
“However, that should not mask what a hugely impressive first season in charge of the Cherries this has been from Andoni Iraola, who endured a tough start to life on the south coast after replacing the popular Gary O’Neil at the Vitality last summer.
“In fact, Bournemouth were even languishing down in 19th place on just three points from nine games after a 2-1 home defeat to of all teams, an O’Neil-managed Wolverhampton Wanderers back in October.
“However, a brilliant run of Champions League-type form since propelled the team up the standings so that they even managed to end the season with a club record haul of top-flight points, while only in 2016-17 have the Cherries ever achieved a higher Premier League finish.
“And as long as they can keep hold of their most important players for next season, especially 19-goal Dominic Solanke, then there is no reason why they cannot achieve a top-10 league finish this time next year.”
When does the 2024/25 Premier League season start?
The 2023/24 season has reached its conclusion but planning has already started for the new campaign.
Several Premier League sides have confirmed pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2024/25 term, which kicks off on the weekend of August 17/18, while others have given fresh kits an early airing.
The Premier League fixtures – all 380 of them – will be released at 9am on Tuesday, June 18, with full coverage on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports’ digital platforms.
The new EFL season starts on the weekend of August 10/11 and marks the launch of Sky Sports+, giving more choice to sports fans via live streams and a new dedicated channel, at no extra cost. In a broadcasting first, every EFL game across all three divisions – the Championship, League One and League Two – will be streamed live on the opening weekend.
Stand by for another busy summer in the transfer window – clubs can do business from June 14 until August 30 and the Sky Sports Transfer Centre will keep you posted with all the latest news and rumours.
Euro 2024 is just weeks away, too. Keep track of England’s Euro fixtures, check out the full tournament schedule in Germany and join us on skysports.com or the Sky Sports app to follow every game with our live match blogs.