Ryan Christie helped Bournemouth secure a 3-1 victory over Birmingham City with a goal and an assist before having to be replaced in the second half through injury.
The Scotland international put in an excellent performance as the Cherries went back to second in the Championship after Blackburn lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park.
After initially hitting the bar, Christie was on hand to fire home from 10 yards after Philip Billing pulled the ball back for the former Celtic man to register his second goal for the Dorset club.
The 26-year-old then turned provider as he slipped in Cherries' top goal scorer Dominic Solanke for the striker’s 19th league goal of the campaign before Jaidon Anthony finished off the scoring after Jefferson Lerma’s red card and Onel Hernandez’ second half strike had initially pulled one back for the away side.
Cherries boss Scott Parker was full of praise for his Scottish forward who made the switch to Vitality Stadium from Celtic in the summer.
“He was exceptional,” said the Bournemouth head coach after the game.
“A goal, I think he got the assist for the second - he was every bit of exceptional.
“His qualities are there for everyone to see, Ryan Christie, I thought he was exceptional today."
Christie moved from Celtic to Bournemouth at the beginning of the season in a deal worth just over £2.5 million after six years in the Scottish capital winning seven trophies in his time at Parkhead.
The Scots experience north of the border is not lost on Parker who continued: “You can tell Ryan has got big character, you can tell he has been at a top club that has had big expectation on him and when you have to win games - big mentality - Ryan Christie has got that, I think you see that.”
It was not all good news though, as the versatile forward pulled up with a problem to his quad midway through the second half.
Parker remains optimistic that the injury is not too serious with games coming thick and fast as the heavy fixture schedule continues with a trip to Blackpool next up on Saturday followed by games against Nottingham Forest, Swansea and Stoke City all rounding off a busy February for the Dorset club.
Parker added: “He just felt his quad a little bit.
“Hopefully it is not too bad but he did feel it a little bit so we will have to see how he reacts tonight, see how he is and assess him more in the morning.”