Relegation-battling Bournemouth hosted a European-challenging Fulham at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon, in a game where three points could change the trajectory of both team's seasons.
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The Story of the Match
Fulham began the game strongly, dominating in possession and choreographing their attacks with immense rhythm and fluidity. This would prove to be too much for Bournemouth as the visitors broke the deadlock in the 16th minute.
Manor Solomon broke well on the left wing and his pass found Harrison Reed with his back to the goal. The Englishman was alert and laid the ball back into the path of the oncoming Andreas Pereira, who skillfully slotted the ball past Neto in the Bournemouth goal.
Fulham continued their onslaught on the Bournemouth goal and came close to doubling their lead at 23 minutes. Bobby Decordova-Reid's cross was flicked on by Harrison Reed and found its way through to Antonee Robinson just outside the box. The American struck the ball immensely on the half volley. The ball looked destined to fly past Neto but instead the American international saw his effort crash back off the crossbar.
Bournemouth had not started the game at all well and a big change would be needed in order for them to take anything away from the match. This would come in the form of Dango Ouatarra.
Bournemouth played strongly on the counterattack in the first 45 and the Burkina Faso international had two incredible chances to equalise for the hosts. The first, in the 32nd minute where his effort narrowly missed the far post after a great piece of play by Solanke.
The second after his shot thundered back off the underside of the bar in the 42nd minute. Despite these chances, the score remained 1-0 to Fulham heading into the halftime break.
The Cherries needed something to change and this came in the form of Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie, replacing Dango Outarra and Jaidon Anthony at the interval.
The impact was felt almost immediately as Marcus Tavernier would equalise, with a brilliant goal in the 49th minute of play. Rothewell's corner was punched away by Bernd Leno and the ball fell to Marcus Tavernier in space on the edge of the box. The winger took one touch inside past Harrison Reed and curled a beauty past the helpless Leno into the top left-hand corner.
Bournemouth continued on the front foot and would find the winner in the 78th minute through Dominic Solanke. After a nice piece of play, Ryan Christie found himself in a good position on the edge of the area and fired a low drive towards the Fulham goal. Leno did well to stop the original effort but, as the Fulham defenders failed to clear their lines, Dominic Solanke was on hand to convert and send the home fans into ruptures.
Marco Silva tried everything, bringing on Cedric Soares, Saska Lukic, Tom Cairney Daniel James and Harry Wilson, all in an attempt to at least rescue a point. However, these efforts would not be enough as Gary O'Neil's side came away with a vital three points at home.
The result sees the Cherries out of the relegation zone and into 15th place, while Fulham drops down to 10th with their European dreams slipping away.
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Player of the Match
Undoubtedly Marcus Tavernier. The winger played just his third match in 2023 but provided an incredible impact and the goal which began the comeback for Bournemouth. He finished the game with one goal, an 8.0 match rating, 100% shot accuracy and 80% pass accuracy (16/20 accurate passes). He achieved all this in just 45 minutes of play, an incredible substitute performance.
