A first-half thrashing gained Bournemouth the win against their south coast rivals, Southampton, in a match that was not a derby but given an electric atmosphere felt like one.
Andoni Iraola watched from the stands as Brazilian forward, Evanilson, gained his first Premier League goal for the Cherries in the 17th minute after a quick-thinking free kick from Marcus Tavernier.
The goals did not stop there in the first half as Dango Ouattara scored his first goal for Bournemouth this season as Lewis Cook's shot deflected off him, driving the ball past ex-Bournemouth goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The third goal in the first half came from star player Antoine Semenyo, who is on fire for the Cherries. The Ghanaian cut inside on his left foot before shifting onto his right and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net. In his 50th appearance for the club, this goal surely meant a lot for the winger.
Southampton played poorly in the first half. Although they looked promising in the first ten minutes, their luck did not continue, as they conceded three goals in 39 minutes.
Southampton began to bring it back in the second half, after a header in the 51st minute from Taylor Harwood-Bellis made the scoreline 3-1, creating hope for the away team that they would gain a point.
In the last 15 minutes, both teams looked promising to score another goal but the score remained the same. The game resulted in a 3-1 win for the home side to take them to 11th place in the table.
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Story of the Match
After Bournemouth's devastating 3-0 loss against Liverpool last weekend, they made three changes to their starting XI for the south coast derby.
New signing, Julián Araujo, was dropped for Cherries veteran, Adam Smith, who has plenty of experience playing against Southampton in his 10 years at the club.
Marcos Senesi also came in for Dean Huijsen even though fans were praising the 19-year-old Spanish international for his past few appearances.
Dango Outtara replaced Justin Kluivert after coming on for him last weekend, proving himself with his strong second-half performance against Liverpool. Kepa Arrizabalaga kept his spot between the sticks despite conceding five goals in two games.
Southampton decided to keep their back four unchanged despite not winning a game and conceding nine goals in their previous five matches. However, ex-Liverpool player Adam Lallana was dropped for French under-21 international Lesley Ugochukwu in the midfield.
18-year-old Tyler Dibling came in for Cameron Archer after his first Premier League goal against Ipswich, proving himself to be a genuine first-team choice for the Saints.
Southampton seemed to have control of the game in the opening ten minutes with multiple chances in the box. Ex-Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser drove forward, causing Kepa to make a critical save for the home team in just the eighth minute.
Aaron Ramsdale's high positioning on the field looked as if it would not work for this game as he looked shaky behind Bournemouth's high press, as they were not scared to challenge him.
Evanilson's first goal for Bournemouth finally arrived for the Brazilian forward. His right-footed volley came in the 17th minute from a quick free-kick by Tavernier, as the Brazillian pummeled the ball past ex-Cherries 'keeper Ramsdale.
A second goal was looking promising for the home side as Dango Ouattara looked strong on the wing, making key runs and putting in powerful crosses to the likes of Evanilson and Semenyo.
Bournemouth were all over the away side in the first 30 minutes with Tavernier continuing to prove why he was in the starting XI, providing an assist for the opening goal and causing Ramsdale to make critical saves for Southampton.
Brilliant play from Antoine Semenyo created the second goal. He passed the ball to Lewis Cook, who drove the ball into bottom right corner which took a deflection on the way from Dango Ouattara in the 32nd minute of play, bringing his first goal for this Premier League season.
Southampton seemingly lost their composure going into the second half, making silly mistakes and giving the ball away to their rivals. Whereas Bournemouth were only gaining more confidence since their opening goal.
Antoine Semenyo who set up the second goal, scored the third goal for the Cherries in the 39th minute. Strong with his feet, the Ghanaian cut inside on his left before shifting onto his right foot and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net past Ramsdale.
19th-placed Southampton ended the first half with a lack of composure, unlikely to look to score in the remainder of the game if they continued to play with the same style of play. A change at half-time was imminent, as fans looked towards Russell Martin to have a word with the Saints' players.
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Second Half
A triple change was imminent for Southampton as Ugochukwu, Fraser and Maxwel Cornet came off for Ben Brereton Díaz, Ross Stewart and Joe Aribo.
A set piece for the Saints occurred in the 50th minute of play which caused Kepa to make a key save, as Harwood-Bellis fired in a dangerous header.
Later in the same move, Harwood-Bellis scored his first goal of the season, this time heading the ball past the Spanish keeper into the bottom corner, slowly clawing back the goals they conceding in the first-half.
Bournemouth looked to secure their win as they swapped goalscorer Ouattara for Justin Kluivert in the 61st minute, who last season proved himself last year by scoring seven goals under Andoni Iraola in his first Premier League season.
Both teams continued to look for another goal as it hit the mid-point of the second half. Evanilson appeared strong in the number nine position, firing shots at Aaron Ramsdale, but none of them made it over the line.
Southampton looked more threatening to score another as they were looking strong after the substitution for Adam Lallana to come onto the pitch. The ex-England international created multiple chances and had a few shots of his own.
Bournemouth looked more likely to score with ten minutes to go, as a powerful left-footed half-volley from Ryan Christie just missed the target.
As added time played, the result was clear for both sides, as Bournemouth came away with three points, securing them 11th place in the table as Southampton stayed in the relegation zone in 19th place.
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Player of the Match - Antoine Semenyo
Antoine Semenyo continues to be the star player for Bournemouth. After scoring an astonishing goal in the 39th minute as he played the ball past the Southampton defenders, that was not all he did to make the home team win.
The Ghanaian's never-ending talent shined throughout the 90 minutes as he produced the second goal for the Cherries by cutting inside on his left and firing the ball to Lewis Cook who assisted the goal for Ouattara.
His third Premier League goal this season came on his 50th league appearance for the Cherries, which will be a proud and memorable day for him. His progression for the seaside team has shown this season as he continues to be in Iraola's starting XI, consistently showing his worth.
