Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson scored either side of Kevin Danso's 17th-minute red card as Bournemouth beat 10-man Sunderland 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday. It was the Cherries' first Premier League win of the season and Marco Rose's first as a Premier League manager.
Both sides started the day in the bottom three. Bournemouth were 15th at full time, while Sunderland suffered a fourth straight league defeat.
Match facts
- Result: Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland (half-time 1-0)
- Competition: Premier League, Matchweek 7
- Venue: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth (attendance 12,004)
- Scorers: Bournemouth - Tavernier 6', Evanilson 48'
- Assists: Bournemouth - Evanilson (6')
- Red cards: Danso (Sunderland) 17', straight red
- Next: Lech Poznań v Sunderland and Bournemouth v AC Milan (both Europa League), Thursday 22 October; Manchester United v Bournemouth and Sunderland v Leeds United, both Sunday 25 October
How the match unfolded
Sunderland's afternoon unravelled inside 17 minutes. In the sixth minute Lewis Cook played the ball forward, Danso and Omar Alderete failed to deal with it, and Evanilson muscled past Danso before unselfishly crossing for Tavernier to head into an empty net. It was the midfielder's fourth goal of the season.
Eleven minutes later Evanilson got in front of Danso again and was pulled down on the edge of the area as he went through on goal. Referee Craig Pawson showed the Austrian defender a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Bournemouth dominated with the extra man. James Hill drove wide in the 22nd minute, and Robin Roefs kept Sunderland in the game, saving from Rayan before Adam Smith blazed the rebound over an open goal in the 31st minute. Roefs also kept out Rayan's 25-yard strike at his near post in the 45th minute.
The second goal, three minutes after the restart, was another gift. Alderete's back pass to Roefs was badly underhit, and Evanilson rounded the goalkeeper before rolling the ball into the empty net in the 48th minute for his second goal of the season.
Sunderland made a double change on 59 minutes, with Habib Diarra and Luke O'Nien replacing Tymur Tutierov and Alderete. Roefs denied Evanilson in the 60th minute after Rayan's shot was blocked, and the Brazilian hooked a Rayan cross wide of the near post in the 69th. Substitute Justin Kluivert flashed a shot inches past the far post two minutes into stoppage time.
Relief for Rose, pain for Sunderland
Bournemouth finished with 29 attempts and 65% of the ball. Sunderland managed three shots and never tested Đorđe Petrović. The three points lift the Cherries out of the relegation zone, a week after a 5-1 defeat at Chelsea.
"If I'm honest, I feel relief, but not just me," Rose said, as reported by Sky Sports. "Today we have our first win but we need more and want more. That's very important because we are still in a tough situation."
Sunderland were 19th at full time with four points from seven games, still winless away from home in the league and without a league victory since beating Fulham on 30 August. Both of their league games after Europa League fixtures have ended in defeat, the first being the 5-3 loss at Manchester City. "A bad day, a bad start," said head coach Régis Le Bris, quoted by The Guardian. "It wasn't the best version of Sunderland."
What's next
Both clubs won their opening two Europa League games and return to that competition on Thursday. Sunderland visit Lech Poznań (17:45 UK), and Bournemouth, who beat Sturm Graz 3-0 in their first European home game, host AC Milan (20:00 UK). Bournemouth then travel to Manchester United next Sunday (14:00 UK), with Sunderland hosting Leeds United later that afternoon (16:30 UK).
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