Second-placed Tottenham thumped Watford 4-0 in the early kick-off, but Chelsea met the challenge with a fuss-free victory on the south coast.
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But Diego Costa’s shot deflected in off Adam Smith to give Chelsea the lead and Hazard quickly added a second, with Marcos Alonso’s free-kick wrapping up the points after Joshua King’s reply.
“Pressure brings the best out of you”.
Son tapped in Kieran Trippier’s cross 10 minutes into the second half to complete the scoring, although there was another big cheer when Harry Kane returned from injury as a substitute just past the hour mark. With the benefit of a flick off David Luiz, who was again in the wrong position to make a proper tackle, the ball eluded Thibaut Courtois’ left hand.
The effectiveness of Antonio Conte’s wing backs in his preferred 3-4-3 formation was apparent once more as the returning Victor Moses played a crucial role in the opener before Alonso produced a moment of individual brilliance.
Less than three minutes later Chelsea swapped the slapstick for the stupendous, as Hazard conjured a finish of the highest quality.
They haven’t lost a single game in their last five outings, picking up three draws and two wins.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe told the BBC: “I have to compliment Chelsea, they’re an outstanding team and their system works very well for them”.
Hazard rolled the ball into the net and Chelsea looked well set, but one of the virtues of this Bournemouth side is a refusal to get too downhearted when things go against them.
The pack chasing Chelsea, headed by Spurs, all won earlier.
Fourth-placed Manchester City ended a four-game run without a league win as they beat relegation-threatened Hull City 3-1 with Sergio Aguero among the scorers at The Etihad Stadium. They scored one goal, but after half-time we did well and controlled the game.
The presence of Nemanja Matic in midfield rather than Cesc Fabregas looked to have lessened the creativity of Chelsea, but the benched Spain global would have been proud of the passes from Luiz and Kante that set up the quick-fire brace of first-half goals that pushed Chelsea into a commanding, though fragile, early lead.
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And the weather conditions almost played a role in Bournemouth taking the lead just two minutes in when David Luiz attempted to clear Ryan Fraser’s cross from the right, but instead skewed the ball toward his own net – which Thibaut Courtois leapt to save.
