Bournemouth pulled off a sensational 3-0 home win over 10-man AC Milan on Thursday, taking three wins from their opening three Europa League games.
Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier converted first-half penalties to put Bournemouth firmly in control against AC Milan, one of Europe’s leading clubs.
Milan goalkeeper and skipper Mike Maignan was sent off early for a foul on Tyler Adams, and his side never fully recovered.
Amine Adli scored a sublime 84th-minute free-kick to make it 3-0, the Premier League side having opened their inaugural Europa League campaign with victory at Real Sociedad followed by a 3-0 home win over Sturm Graz last week.
Bournemouth, who became the first English club since Sunderland in 1973/74 to win the first three European fixtures in their history, will now face Sparta Prague and Celta Vigo in November.
“It means a lot. We came off two victories, so that gave us a good feeling for this game,” Kluivert told TNT Sports. “We trust ourselves. It doesn’t matter who we play against. We know what we’re capable of, and I think we showed that today.”
Bournemouth’s Premier League rivals Crystal Palace rebounded from a 5-0 weekend thrashing by Brighton and Hove Albion to claim a 2-2 draw with Beskitas in Istanbul, while Scottish giants Celtic suffered a third successive defeat, going down 2-1 to Celta Vigo.
Bayer Leverkusen, however, also made it three straight wins with a Jonas Hofmann double earning a 2-0 away win at OFI Crete as both Juventus and Sunderland lost ground in Thursday’s third matchday.
