The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bournemouth

  • Bournemouth agree £25m deal for Liverpool’s Doak

    Bournemouth agree £25m deal for Liverpool’s Doak

    Bournemouth have agreed a deal for Liverpool winger Ben Doak for an initial £20m with a further £5m in add-ons.

    The 19-year-old is expected to complete his transfer to the south coast in the next 24 hours in a move that remains subject to paperwork and passing a medical.

    Doak was left out of Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday night, amid ongoing talks between the two Premier League clubs.

    But Bournemouth have since secured a deal for the forward, who has six caps for Scotland, and spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough, scoring three times and recording seven assists in 24 matches.

    They are understood to have beaten interest from other Premier League clubs, including Leeds, as well as Portuguese club Porto.

    Doak’s move will give him a better chance of playing first team football having played just 10 times for Liverpool since joining from Celtic in 2022.

    Bournemouth have had a busy summer having sold Dango Ouattara to Brentford for £42.5m last week.

    They already lost defenders Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez for a combined total of about £150m to Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid and Liverpool respectively.

    Read Also: Chiesa, Salah late goals stun Bournemouth in six-goal thriller

    Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said his side are “not where they want to be” before defeat at Anfield and added “important movements” will be made before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

    Goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, left-back Adrien Truffert and centre-back Bafode Diakite have joined the club this summer, with January signing Eli Junior Kroupi also coming into the squad after finishing last season on loan at Lorient.

    Sources say the Cherries are in the market for a further central defender and a striker to compete with Evanilson, with alternative option Enes Unal expected to be out with a major knee injury until November or December.

    BBC

  • Chiesa, Salah late goals stun Bournemouth in six-goal thriller

    Chiesa, Salah late goals stun Bournemouth in six-goal thriller

    Reigning champions Liverpool sealed a thrilling 4-2 win against Bournemouth in the opening game of the new Premier League season.

    Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike marked his first league start with a goal (37′) and Cody Gakpo doubled the lead shortly after half-time (49′).

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    Bournemouth fought back with two impressive goals from Antoine Semenyo (64′, 76′) to level the score before a a dramatic finish.

  • Liverpool host Bournemouth in EPL opener

    Liverpool host Bournemouth in EPL opener

    Champions Liverpool kick off their Premier League season tonight, when they face Bournemouth at Anfield.

    The Reds’ season got underway last weekend when they were beaten on penalties by Crystal Palace, in the Community Shield, at Wembley, but they showed, in patches, the kind of form that will stand them in good stead again this season.

    Arne Slot’s side finished 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal in May as they secured their 20th league title.

    They have spent big this summer bringing in five new players and spending well over £200m, but they have received more than £180m in the sale of seven players.

    With Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz both being sold and the tragic death of Diogo Jota, the Reds still seem light in attack, particularly through the middle, so it’s no surprise that the speculation around bringing in Alexander Isak continues.

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    When it comes to the Premier League winner odds it’s not a surprise that Liverpool are the favourites for the title at 19/10, ahead of Arsenal at 13/5 and Manchester City at 7/2.

    Bournemouth, are 750/1 and they will face a difficult task to improve on their ninth-placed finish last season, although you can find a price of Premier League top four odds.

    That impressive season, which saw them win 15 of their 38 games and keep nine clean sheets, resulted in bids for three defenders that they just couldn’t turn down.

    Dean Huijsen joined Real Madrid for £50m while Milos Kerkez moved to Liverpool for £40m, back in June, and Illia Zabarnyi has this week joined Paris St Germain for £57m, so it will be interesting to see how they adapt after losing such quality.

    This is not the type of game they would hope for to kick off the season, especially as they have lost 11 of their last 12 league matches against Liverpool. Their only win came in 2023 when Philip Billing scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

    Liverpool have kept clean sheets in their last three meetings, but they will need to defend better than they did last weekend, when captain Virgil Van Dijk was to blame for both of Palace’s goals in the 2-2 draw.

    The Reds haven’t lost their opening match of the season in their last 12 campaigns, winning nine and drawing three since they were beaten 3-0 by West Brom back at the start of the 2012-13 season.

  • Liverpool host Bournemouth to open Premier League season

    Liverpool host Bournemouth to open Premier League season

    Champions Liverpool will host Bournemouth on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season, with Manchester United playing Arsenal at Old Trafford.

    Liverpool, who won the league in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, will begin their title defence at Anfield in the curtain-raiser on Friday, 15 August.

    Newly promoted Sunderland, back in the top flight for the first time since 2016-17, start their campaign at home against West Ham the following day.

    Championship winners Leeds welcome Everton to Elland Road for the Monday night game, while Burnley – promoted back to the top flight at the first time of asking – travel to Europa League holders Tottenham, who will be led by Thomas Frank in a league match for the first time.

    Everton fans will have to wait until the second round of fixtures for their first league game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, when they will face Brighton.

    Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will hope to bounce back from a rare trophyless season with a strong start against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

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    The season, which consists of 380 games over 33 weekends and five midweek rounds, will conclude on Sunday, 24 May.

    The Premier League has said the start date of 15 August – 82 days on from the end of the 2024-25 season – “allows for the maximum player rest time available”.

    During the festive period, clubs will not be asked to play twice in less than 60 hours.

    It will be the first season with the new Premier League TV deal in place, with every game outside of the Saturday 3pm blackout to be broadcast live by either Sky Sports or TNT Sports.

    BBC

  • EPL: Kluivert hits hat-trick as Bournemouth end Newcastle’s winning run

    EPL: Kluivert hits hat-trick as Bournemouth end Newcastle’s winning run

    Justin Kluivert scored a hat-trick as Bournemouth claimed a thoroughly deserved victory at St James’ Park to stretch their unbeaten Premier League run to 10 matches and wreck Newcastle’s own nine-match winning streak.

    The Magpies were hoping to set a new club record of 10 straight victories in all competitions, but struggled to replicate the form that had them tipped as title challengers.

    Bournemouth made the much brighter start and took a deserved lead when Kluivert coolly steered Antoine Semenyo’s cutback into the far corner.

    Newcastle equalised with their first real opportunity as Bruno Guimaraes rose highest to nod Lewis Hall’s corner past Kepa Arrizabalaga, who failed to keep the header out despite getting a hand to the ball.

    But the Cherries remained on top and led again, courtesy of another composed Kluivert finish, which came after Guimaraes had lost possession just outside his own box.

    The visitors thought they had made it 3-1 when Dango Ouattara prodded home from close range shortly after the hour mark, but the video assistant referee (VAR) spotted that Guimaraes’ clearance had gone out of play moments earlier and a corner was awarded.

    Read Also: EPL: Bournemouth stun Manchester City with historic win

    David Brooks was denied by a sprawling Martin Dubravka save, but Kluivert completed his treble with a spectacular drive in to the far corner following a poor Anthony Gordon pass.

    Milos Kerkez rubbed more salt into Newcastle’s wounds in added time, sending a fierce left-footed drive into the far corner to the delight of the Cherries’ 1,700 travelling fans.

    Bournemouth are now just one point behind the fourth-placed Magpies in the table and will end the day in sixth if Aston Villa fail to beat Arsenal in Saturday’s late game.

  • EPL: Bournemouth stun Manchester City with historic win

    EPL: Bournemouth stun Manchester City with historic win

    Antoine Semenyo and Evanlison scored as Bournemouth sealed their first-ever win against Manchester City at Vitality Stadium.

    The Cherries, in good form after picking up four points from their last two games against Aston Villa and Arsenal, started quickly and full of positivity.

    Ederson was forced into a double save after just two minutes as he denied Semenyo and Justin Kluivert.

    With the tone set, Bournemouth continued to press high and they were rewarded in the ninth minute when Milos Kerkez’s cut-back from the byeline was turned in by Semenyo.

    City failed to muster an attempt on target during a largely frustrating first half.

    Bournemouth came out for the second period full of confidence and were close to doubling their lead in the first minute, but Ederson was sharply off his line to keep Evanlison’s effort out.

    Evanlison made sure with his next opportunity, though, sliding to meet Kerkez’s low ball and nestling it into the bottom corner.

    Read Also: EPL: Manchester City beat Southampton to go top of table

    The hosts should have made it three moments later but Adam Smith, presented with an open goal, blazed over the bar after Marcus Tavernier’s shot came back off the post.

    City finally registered an attempt on target in the 80th minute, albeit a tame one, with Erling Haaland struggling to get any power on his volley.

    And two minutes later, Josko Gvardiol headed beyond a despairing Mark Travers to offer hope but the Premier League champions were unable to grab an equaliser.

    The defeat means City slip to second after Liverpool came-from-behind to beat Brighton, while Bournemouth climb up to eighth.

  • DECLAN RICE: We’ll keep pushing and fighting

    DECLAN RICE: We’ll keep pushing and fighting

    Dropping their first match against Bournemouth last weekend, Arsenal forward Declan Rice spoke about the desire of the team not to give, and to keep pushing and fighting in the English Premiership League.

    Rice gave an honest assessment of the 2-0 defeat on the south coast, informing that going down to 10 men affected their approach to the match.

    “I could say a million things,” he said. “But I think I’m proud of the players to be honest. I think the way we reacted again, going down to 10 men was not ideal, we knew that as a group of players, we’ve just said in there [the dressing room], that’s three times in eight games that we’ve let our standards slip and if you want to compete at the top you cannot let that happen.

    “But again, the reaction we showed to that and the belief, even on the pitch at half-time, that we could go and win the game and the chances that we had. I’m proud of these boys and I’m proud of the mentality that these boys and the club show.

    “We’ll keep pushing, we’ll keep fighting on, I think that’s the most important thing. The fans were amazing. It’s so disappointing because we wanted to stay unbeaten, we wanted to win the game, but this is football and it’s a real rollercoaster, it was never going to be perfect, there’s ups and downs but we need to stick together because there’s another six or seven games coming up this month so plenty of positives to look forward to.”

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     “It affects it massively, if the game stays 11v11 for sure it tends to open up and we go on to win the game because with 10 men we still created some amazing chances,” Declan explained. “They were throwing everything at us and leaving big spaces, but this is football, you can’t wish for it or gamble for it, you need to earn it and in the end, with the two mistakes we made at critical times, it wasn’t enough tonight. That’s the best way to describe it.

    “These supporters were full in the stadium even before we came out to warm up, singing our names, chanting and then we go down to 10 men; the support, you feel that, you hear their voices and you want to do so well for them and perform for them because they pay their well-earned money to come and watch us and to travel down here so to not win is disappointing but we thank them and we have two big home games, Shakhtar and Liverpool, so I know they will be behind us for that.”

  • EPL: Bournemouth end Arsenal unbeaten start after 2-0 defeat

    EPL: Bournemouth end Arsenal unbeaten start after 2-0 defeat

    Bournemouth on Saturday ended 10-man Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season after William Saliba was shown the first red card of his career at Vitality Stadium.

    France international Saliba was dismissed inside the opening half an hour, having tripped Evanilson close to the centre circle after being put under unnecessary pressure by Leandro Trossard’s poor pass.

    It was a situation from which the title-chasing Gunners had already salvaged potentially crucial points against both Manchester City and Brighton, although this time the challenge was to do so for more than 60 minutes.

    Their stubborn resistance was finally broken when Ryan Christie fired brilliantly in to the top corner following a clever corner routine with 20 minutes remaining, substitute Justin Kluivert flicking on Lewis Cook’s low pass into the penalty area.

    Kluivert then put any hope of a recovery beyond Arsenal by confidently converting his penalty nine minutes later, after club record £40m summer signing Evanilson was brought down by Raya.

    Read Also: EPL: Everton beat Ipswich 2-0 in delayed kickoff

    Victory ended a dismal run in this fixture for the Cherries, who had lost the last four league meetings by an aggregate score of 13-2, and moved them up to 10th in the table.

    But this was a significant blow for Arsenal, who missed the opportunity to go top before leaders Liverpool host Chelsea tomorrow at 16:30 BST, after champions Manchester City visit Wolves (14:00).

    BBC Sports

  • Díaz on fire as Liverpool dispatch Bournemouth

    Díaz on fire as Liverpool dispatch Bournemouth

    Luis Díaz bagged a brace as Liverpool overcame Bournemouth with a 3-0 victory at Anfield.

    Bournemouth thought they’d taken a very early lead when Antoine Semenyo finished off a lightning fast break, but mercifully for Liverpool the goal was disallowed for offside.

    Liverpool grew into the game and got their reward when Luis Díaz latched onto a long ball and made the most of some poor positioning from Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa to score.

    It was 2-0 within a matter of minutes, and the Colombian was again the scorer, slipping the ball under Kepa after being slipped in by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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    The game appeared to be put to bed in the 37th minute when Darwin Núñez – making his first start this season – curled home a brilliant effort to make it 3-0.

    Federico Chiesa came on for his Liverpool debut and had a chance to score almost immediately after being introduced, but his spectacular long-range effort was saved by Kepa.

    Luis Sinisterra almost pulled one back for Bournemouth when his inadvertent header from a corner came back off the bar, with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher reacting brilliantly to stop Alexander-Arnold putting the rebound into his own net.

  • EPL: Bournemouth draw 2-2 against bottom team Sheffield United

    EPL: Bournemouth draw 2-2 against bottom team Sheffield United

    Enes Unal’s stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point for Bournemouth and denied Sheffield United a precious three points in their fight for Premier League survival.

    The Turkey international, on loan from Getafe, headed in his first goal for the club in the first minute of added time, moments after having a header from a similar position cleared of the line.

    The goal was harsh on Sheffield United, who were much improved from Monday’s chastening defeat at home to Arsenal and had led 2-0 until the 74th minute at Vitality Stadium.

    Gustavo Hamer opened the scoring in the first half after Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto had parried Jayden Bogle’s low shot into his path, his goal coming 13 minutes after Dominik Solanke had skied an early penalty for the Cherries.

    Read Also: EPL: Man United beat Everton 2-0 at Old Trafford

    Solanke won the spot-kick after being caught late by Tom Davies but slipped in the run-up, the ball sailing high over the crossbar after hitting the striker’s standing foot.

    The visitors were gifted a second goal midway through the second period when Neto punched a corner into the head of Solanke and it fell into the path of Robinson, whose close-range shot struck the inside of the post on its way over the line.

    Solanke had a goal disallowed by the video assistant referee after handling the ball inside the six-yard area, and Dango Ouattara’s emphatic header gave the Cherries hope before Unal completed the fightback.

    BBC Sports