Bournemouth 3-0 AC Milan: Kluivert and Tavernier penalties sink 10-man Italians
Bournemouth made it three wins from three in this season's Europa League league phase with a thoroughly convincing 3-0 victory over AC Milan at the Vitality Stadium, a result that leaves them sitting pretty on nine points from their opening group games.
The hosts made the perfect start when Justin Kluivert stepped up to convert a penalty after just eight minutes, sending his effort into the bottom right corner to put Bournemouth ahead. Milan's night then took a decisive turn for the worse in the 27th minute when goalkeeper Mike Maignan was shown a straight red card for violent conduct, leaving the visitors to play the remaining hour-plus with ten men.
Bournemouth wasted little time exploiting their advantage. Marcus Tavernier made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute, slotting home to the bottom left corner. The scoring was completed late on when substitute Amine Adli added a third in the 84th minute, rounding off a dominant display in front of their own supporters.
There were yellow cards along the way for Bafodé Diakité and Tyler Adams of Bournemouth, while Milan saw Pervis Estupiñán and Fikayo Tomori also booked on a difficult evening for Marco Rose's side. Bournemouth made several changes as the game wore on, with Lewis Cook, Rayan, Alex Tóth and Álvaro Rodríguez all introduced from the bench.
The statistics told the story of Bournemouth's superiority, with the hosts enjoying 63.8% possession and firing 20 shots at goal compared to Milan's three. Seven of those efforts were on target, and Bournemouth also won six corners to Milan's four, underlining just how comprehensively they controlled proceedings, even before the sending-off tilted things further in their favour.
The Bournemouth Echo described it as a "dominant" display, reporting that the Cherries "do Italian job on AC Milan to continue perfect Europa League start" (Bournemouth Echo). The Guardian struck a note of perspective on the achievement, calling it "a momentous night in Bournemouth's history" while suggesting that "the truth is they would have been given a far sterner examination by Coventry or Hull," also referencing Marco Rose's management of the Milan side (The Guardian). BBC Sport framed the win within a wider context, describing it as a "dream night for Bournemouth" and noting that the victory "further illustrated the dominance of Premier League sides against their European counterparts" (BBC Sport).
With this latest success, Bournemouth continue their perfect start to the Europa League league phase, a notable achievement given their position of 15th in the Premier League domestically. The visit of AC Milan had already been building excitement locally in the build-up, with supporters from both clubs arriving in numbers ahead of kick-off (Bournemouth Echo). Attention will now turn to how Bournemouth can carry this European form into their remaining fixtures, both in the Europa League and back in the Premier League.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
