Jordan Henderson said work with Chelsea’s set-piece coach Austin MacPhee helped prepare the free-kick that completed his brace against Bournemouth.
The midfielder scored twice on his Stamford Bridge home debut in Chelsea’s 5-1 win. His second goal came from a free-kick after Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers agreed to leave the attempt to him.
Henderson free-kick came from training
In Chelsea official post-match interview, Henderson explained that the set-piece work took place at Cobham during the international break.
“We’ve been working on it in training for the past week or two, to be fair, and I was pretty consistent,” he said. MacPhee and his teammates had confidence in him taking the kick.
That practice was converted into a goal. Henderson thanked Palmer and Rogers for letting him take the attempt, which finished a scoring sequence he had also started.
Henderson home debut brings two goals
Henderson opened the scoring inside two minutes and then supplied Rogers for Chelsea’s second. Joao Pedro scored twice before Henderson’s free-kick made it 5-1.
“It was my home debut so it was a big day for me,” he said. After an injury in the summer, he was pleased to play at Stamford Bridge and contribute to a win.
Our Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth match report covers the goals. Henderson’s interview adds the preparation behind the last of them.
Defensive work matters to Henderson
Although the goals attracted attention, Henderson stressed the team’s work without the ball. He praised the defensive attitude of the attacking players and felt it gave Chelsea a platform to attack after winning possession.
He also said the team started both halves well, while concentration and consistency across the game mattered as much as the opening burst.
“What I was most pleased with today was the work we did and the defensive attitude without the ball,” he said.
The free-kick was the memorable finish. Henderson’s wider message was that training and collective work helped make the result possible, alongside the individual quality of Chelsea’s attackers.
Image: Jordan Henderson in England colours in 2018. Photo: Voltmetro, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped). Quotes from Chelsea official site.
