Eden Hazard quietened the debate surrounding Antonio Conte’s future with the second-half goal that secured a 1-0 win here on Saturday and maintained champion’s Chelsea’s hold on fourth spot, nine points adrift of Premier League leader Manchester City.
Chelsea manager Conte had reacted angrily to suggestions in the build-up to this game that fellow Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti was being lined up as his successor amid talk of dissent among the London club’s squad.
Those concerns were stilled as Chelsea showed enough resolve to overcome a determined Bournemouth side whose display suggested it is capable of moving out of the bottom three, with Hazard’s 51st-minute goal proving the difference between the two sides.
Gonzalo Higuain scored twice, including his 100th Serie A goal, to give Juventus a 2-0 win at AC Milan on Saturday, putting it level on points at the top of the table and plunging its big-spending opponent back into crisis.
The results: Premier League: Brighton 1 (Murray 52) drew with Southampton 1 (Davies 7). Saturday: Bournemouth 0 lost to Chelsea 1 (Hazard 51).
La Liga: Getafe 2 (Angel Rodriguez 78, Jorge Molina 85-pen) bt Real Sociedad 1 (Oyarzabal 5).
Saturday: Atletico Madrid 1 (Correa 61) drew with Villarreal 1 (Bacca 81); Athletic Bilbao 0 lost to Barcelona 2 (Messi 37, Paulinho 90+2); Sevilla 2 (Ben Yedder 20, Sarabia 54) bt Leganes 1 (Szymanowski 48-pen).
Serie A: Benevento 1 (Lazaar 55) lost to Lazio 5 (Bastos 4, Immobile 13, Marusic 25, Parolo 76, Nani 86). Saturday: AC Milan 0 lost to Juventus 2 (Higuain 23, 63); Roma 1 (El Shaarawy 33) bt Bologna 0.
Bundesliga: Saturday: Bayern Munich 2 (Rodriguez 19, Lewandowski 38) bt RB Leipzig 0 .
