It was an impressive performance from the Cherries as they secured a 2-1 comeback victory versus struggling Leicester, with new prospective owner Bill Foley in attendance for the first time.
Gary O’Neill’s resilient Bournemouth put on a show for prospective new owner Bill Foley as they came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 at the Vitality.
The first chance in the game fell to Bournemouth in the third minute as James Justin falls underneath the ball sending Ryan Christie through on goal. As he arrived in the box, the Scotsman cut inside on his left foot leaving Faes to go sliding past him. However he failed to get the shot off in what was a real wasted opportunity to the Cherries.
In the 11th minute, Leicester’s constant pressure finally payed off as a Harvey Barnes shot from the edge of the box took multiple deflections and fell to the feet of Patson Daka. His cool effort to slot the ball past Neto gave the away side an early lead.
The next real chance of the game came in the 32nd minute after an in-swinging James Maddison cross flashed across the face of the goal missing Wout Faes. The ball bounced up to Jonny Evans at the back post whose poor effort was easily caught by Neto.
Bournemouth livened up towards the end of the half as they had a big penalty shout in the 40th minute. Ryan Fredericks and Christie were quick in their counter attack which saw the full-back go down in the box. Referee however deemed Fredericks to be diving and conasequently produced a yellow card.
The first halve ended with the foxes having the lead, but not a game Bournemouth seemed to be out of.
A strong opening 10 minutes from Bournemouth saw them pick up a freekick on the edge of the box from about 20 yards out. Tavernier struck the ball well with it whistling past the post.
The Cherries’ relentless pressure continued in the 62nd minute with Leicester firmly penned in their half. Mepham tried his luck with a volley from the edge of the box following a corner however it was over the bar.
The stadium euprted as in the 68th minute as Phillip Billing fired into the top corner. A quick throw in gave Solanke the chance to carry it into the box and attempt a shot but his effort was blocked and popsped up for Billing to finish off his late run into the box with the equaliser.
When it rains, it pours! Just three minutes later, Billing picks up the ball on the edge of the box and crosses the ball with the outside of his boot. The cross was met by the head of Solanke who knocked it down for Christie to put the ball through the legs of Danny Ward.
Bournemouth did exceptionally well to see out the rest of the game and they thought their hard work had been capped off by a late addition to the scoreline by Jaidon Anthony in the 93rd minute. The cherry on top of the cake was removed as the goal was ruled out for offside.
Ryan Christie was deserving of the man of the match; the Scotsman never stopped running creating a multitude of chances and capping off a fine performance with the winning goal.
Leicester fans won’t be able to feel hard done by with the result; they were poor in the second half and capitulated under Bournemouth’s pressure. It will be nervous times for Brendan Rogers who has just one Premier League win in nine matches and find themselves 19th in the league.
Bournemouth travel up to West London next week where they will face Fulham at Craven Cottage.