MANAGER Eddie Howe was left to rue “two key moments” as Cherries’ unbeaten start to the season came to an end at Chelsea yesterday.

Second-half goals from Pedro and Eden Hazard condemned Cherries to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge as the hosts maintained their 100 per cent winning start.

However, it could have been a different story had Cherries taken presentable chances which fell to Callum Wilson and Nathan Ake before Chelsea had broken the deadlock.

Wilson spurned a glorious opportunity to draw first blood in the 30th minute when he fluffed his lines from close range after been picked out by Diego Rico's excellent centre.

And Ake, who netted in Cherries’ 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge in January, was unable to convert from barely three yards after Steve Cook had flicked Rico's corner into his path in the second half.

Substitute Pedro showed Cherries the way to goal with a deflected strike after 75 minutes before Hazard capped a superb individual display by bagging their second five minutes from time.

Boss Howe said: “I thought we did well for long periods of the game. Chelsea are a different team this season and have a totally different way of playing to last season.

“They are going to be a very difficult team to play against. We nullified their threats for the majority of the game and tried to make it difficult for the individual talents to hurt us.

“Until the first goal, the game was in the balance. We had the best chances and they were two key moments. We didn't take them and, ultimately, paid the price for that.”

Howe added: "We knew we were going to have limited opportunities to score and knew we would play on the counter-attack at times.

“I thought our front three were a threat with their pace. We were waiting for them to make mistakes but they didn’t make many.

“They kept asking questions of our defenders and kept the ball very well. We were pleased with the majority of the performance but, ultimately, very disappointed to get nothing from it. We know there are areas we can improve as well."

Howe refused to point the finger of blame at either Wilson or Ake, both of whom have played pivotal roles in Cherries’ impressive start to the campaign.

“It is part of the game and I am not going to single out any player and lambaste them for missing a chance,” said Howe.

“They were both good opportunities and you know how big they can be when they come. We came here last season and took chances like that and that was the difference.

“You know the first goal in every game is so important and we didn’t get it. It left us a difficult challenge to chase the game, we had to open up and then they got the second.”