Sparta Prague 1-3 Bournemouth: Adams, Evanilson and Rayan complete stunning comeback
Bournemouth produced another impressive away performance in Europe, coming from behind to beat Sparta Prague 3-1 at the Generali Arena and extend their perfect start to this season's Europa League campaign.
The Cherries looked to have it all to do after falling behind in the first half, but goals from Tyler Adams, Evanilson and Rayan turned the game on its head in Prague, as Sky Sports reported in their coverage of the win (Sky Sports).
Sparta took the lead on 35 minutes through Ebrima Singhateh, who finished from the centre of the box after being played in by Jakub Surovcik on a fast break. It capped a frustrating opening period for Bournemouth, who had already seen Lewis Cook strike a penalty against the left-hand post after being awarded a spot-kick earlier in the half.
The game swung decisively in Bournemouth's favour just before half-time when Sparta's Tobias Guddal, who had already been booked, was shown a second yellow card for a bad foul and sent off, leaving the hosts to play the entire second half with ten men.
Bournemouth made the extra man count. Tyler Adams levelled things up on 57 minutes with a well-struck right-footed effort from outside the box into the bottom corner, not long after coming on as a half-time substitute for Adam Smith. Evanilson, another of the second-half substitutes, then put the visitors ahead on 81 minutes, finishing off a move involving fellow sub Ryan Christie. Rayan completed the scoring in stoppage time, converting a chance created by Evanilson to seal the win.
Guddal's dismissal was the only red card of the night, with Ryan Christie and Amine Adli picking up yellow cards for Bournemouth, and Guddal and Ki-Jana Hoever both booked for Sparta before the sending-off.
Bournemouth dominated the statistics, particularly after the break, finishing with 58.7% possession, 20 shots to Sparta's 12, and nine shots on target compared to the hosts' three. The visitors also won ten corners to Sparta's three, reflecting their control for large parts of the contest despite falling behind.
The result means Bournemouth have now won all four of their Europa League league-phase matches this season, making it WWWW in the competition and following on from wins over Real Sociedad, Sturm Graz and AC Milan. It also extends their fine run in all competitions, with the Cherries winning each of their last five games in all competitions heading into this trip to the Czech capital.
For Sparta Prague, it is a third defeat in their last four Europa League outings, with their form in the competition now reading WDLL, as they continue to struggle for consistency at this level.
With both the penalty miss and a man sent off, it was an eventful night in Prague, but ultimately one that showcased Bournemouth's resilience and quality off the bench, as Sky Sports' coverage of the fixture reflected (Sky Sports) (Sky Sports).
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.
