Eddie Howe challenges Bournemouth to play to their best once again

Chelsea continued their march to the Premier League title by restoring their seven-point lead at the top of the table with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Chelsea responded from last weekend’s surprise loss to Crystal Palace by beating Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Before the Blues kicked off on the south coast, Tottenham Hotspur beat Watford 4-0 to move to within four points of leaders Chelsea.

Diego Costa’s woeful fly-hack forced an own goal from Adam Smith to hand Chelsea the lead, before Hazard outfoxed Artur Boruc for his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

Chelsea fans have clamoured for Victor Moses’ immediate return to action after Antonio Conte’s side seemed to have struggled in their two recent games played without the injured Nigerian global. In the end, they’ve avoided defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United as well inside their previous five games.

“I see two teams, Chelsea and Tottenham, in this [title] race”.

“There are seven games to go, and we have a schedule that’s not easy”, said Conte.

“It was important for us to win after many days without a win”, said Guardiola, whose side lost 2-1 at Chelsea in mid-week after three successive draws.

Former Italy boss Conte insisted he relishes the intense pressure surrounding Chelsea’s tilt for the title – and even admitted he would crank up the heat on his players himself if necessary. He’s playing good football and doing what I want. “You need to win games like this”.

The Bournemouth boss added: “They did what they felt was right for him and their club, so I have no problem with that”.

We are feeling good and confident at the moment. “I’m pleased with his commitment and attitude, he’s a good player and it was the right decision”.

Chelsea are chasing a domestic double this season, with the Blues set to take on Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley later this month.

Benik Afobe went very close with a volley that struck the inside of the post and somehow stayed out, before King scored thanks to a lucky deflection off David Luiz and some shoddy defending from Gary Cahill shortly before half-time.

Of course, Diego Costa looked like he would also be in the frame but he had another disappointing display against Bournemouth as his season fizzles out, his head perhaps turned by the colossal cash offer he received from the Chinese Super League in January.