Tag: Bournemouth

Arsenal’s 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday blew the Premier League title race wide open, as Brentford and Everton missed the chance to close in on Champions League qualification after a 2-2 draw.

The Gunners could have opened up a 12-point lead at the top of the table, but a third defeat in four games for Mikel Arteta’s men has put the destiny of the title back in Manchester City’s hands.

City have two games in hand on the leaders, starting with Sunday’s trip to Chelsea, and host Arsenal next weekend.

Just a few weeks ago, Arsenal were dreaming of an unprecedented quadruple.

But after losing to City in the League Cup final and being dumped out the FA Cup by second-tier Southampton, a first league title in 22 years may also now be slipping away.

“We were very far from the standards that we’ve shown all season, so it’s a big punch in the face because we wanted to win this game so badly,” said Arteta.

“We didn’t cope with the situations when they didn’t go our way.”

Junior Kroupi reacted quickest to Adrien Truffert’s deflected cross to give Bournemouth an early lead.

Viktor Gyokeres levelled before the break from the penalty spot, but a lack of creative spark in the final third was again Arsenal’s undoing.

It is their defensive record that has put Arteta’s men in pole position for the title, but they were cut open with ease when Alex Scott finished off a fine team move for the winner on 74 minutes.

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The result was also huge in Bournemouth’s charge towards the European places as they move up to 10th on the back of an 11-game unbeaten run.

Five English sides will qualify directly for next season’s Champions League, and both Brentford and Everton missed the chance to move level on points with fifth-placed Liverpool.

Twice the Bees led through Igor Thiago, who took his tally for the season to 21 Premier League goals and within one of Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.

Beto levelled midway through the first half for the visitors and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck in stoppage time to salvage a point.

Brighton are also well in the mix for their first ever taste of Champions League football.

Mats Wieffer scored twice as the Seagulls beat relegation-bound Burnley 2-0.

A fifth win in six games for Fabian Hurzeler’s men takes them up to ninth and within three points of the top five.

Liverpool can solidify their place in the top five when they host Fulham later at Anfield, looking to snap a three-game losing streak.

Heavy defeats by Manchester City in the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League have ramped up the pressure on Arne Slot’s position as Liverpool boss, less than a year he led the club to the Premier League title.

Mohamed Salah returns to the Liverpool starting line-up among five changes made by Slot from the chastening 2-0 loss to PSG in midweek.

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Liverpool struck twice in the final minutes through Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah to overcome a battling Bournemouth 4-2 in a thrilling start to the Premier League season on Friday.

Antoine Semenyo looked to have rescued a point for the Cherries by scoring twice, after he had reported an incident of racial abuse from a fan, to cancel out Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo’s strikes for the defending champions.

But on an emotive night as Anfield remembered Diogo Jota, Chiesa was the unlikely hero as the injury-hit Italian fired the home side back in front before Salah rounded off the scoring.

Liverpool’s joy at celebrating a record-equalling 19th English top-flight title turned to tragedy during the off-season as forward Jota was killed alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car accident last month at the age of 28.

Just 11 days prior to the accident, the Portuguese international had married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.

A large banner at the front of The Kop stand read: “Rute, Dinis, Duarte, Mafalda – Anfield will always be your home. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

During a minute’s silence, fans held up a giant mosaic with the initials of Jota and Silva, who was also a footballer, and their shirt numbers in the Portuguese flag.

“The main emotion should be how emotive the tribute for Diogo was,” said Liverpool boss Arne Slot. “It was all so impressive and powerful.”

Despite romping to the title with four games to spare last season, Liverpool have undergone a major transformation in the transfer market, spending close to £300 million ($407 million).

Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong made their first competitive starts for the Reds.

More could be yet to come with Liverpool linked with a British transfer record move for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and interested in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.

The visitors were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men less than 15 minutes in when Marcos Senesi clearly directed the ball out of Ekitike’s path with his hand when the French striker had a clear run at goal, but VAR surprisingly did not intervene.

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The game was briefly halted on the half-hour mark as Semenyo reported to referee Anthony Taylor that he had been the subject of racist abuse from a Liverpool supporter, who was seen to be removed from the stands by police at half-time.

“Totally unacceptable,” said Bournemouth captain Adam Smith. “Kind of in shock it happened in this day and age.”

Liverpool said in a statement that the incident is now the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

Shortly after the resumption, Ekitike settled Liverpool’s nerves as he got the break of the ball and slotted past Dorde Petrovic.

Gakpo then coolly left two Bournemouth defenders on the ground and rolled into the bottom corner just after half-time.

But Slot’s men have struggled to find the right balance in pre-season and in losing the Community Shield to Palace last weekend, as a new-look, slick attack could not compensate for wide open defensive gaps on the counter-attack, and so it proved again.

David Brooks broke the offside trap and squared for Semenyo to pull a goal back.

The Ghanaian then rounded off his eventful evening for good and bad with an incredible equaliser.

Semenyo collected possession just outside his own box and sprinted through a vacant Liverpool midfield before firing into the bottom corner 13 minutes from time.

Chiesa was barely used by Slot in his debut season in England, but became the unlikely hero when he pounced on a loose ball inside the Bournemouth box in the 89th minute.

Salah then broke clear in stoppage time to score his customary goal in the opening game of the season and paid his own homage to Jota by mimicking one of his goal celebrations.

The Egyptian then broke down in tears after full-time as a chant in Jota’s name was belted out from the stands.

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European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said on Tuesday they have signed Ukrainian centre-back Illia Zabarnyi from Premier League club Bournemouth.

British media reports said the deal was worth around £57 million ($76.7 million, 66 million euros).

“Paris Saint-Germain are excited to welcome Illia Zabarnyi,” PSG said in a statement, adding he would be the first Ukrainian ever to play for the club.

The arrival of Zabarnyi, 22, could jeopardise the place of Brazilian stalwart Marquinhos in the starting lineup.

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Zabarnyi had an impressive 2024-2025 season in England when Bournemouth finished ninth, and the club’s supporters voted him their player of the season in the previous campaign.

Bournemouth have now sold three of their first-choice defensive lineup from last season after Milos Kerkez moved to Premier League champions Liverpool and Dean Huijsen was transferred to Real Madrid.

Qatar-owned PSG, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 to win the Champions League for the first time in May, also signed highly-rated Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier last Saturday, a move that appears to herald the possible departure of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Italian international ‘keeper has reportedly not been selected in the squad for Wednesday’s European Super Cup final against Europa League winners Tottenham in Italy.

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Real Madrid signed Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth on Saturday after agreeing to pay his £50 million ($59 million) release fee.

The 20-year-old centre-back has impressed in his one season in the Premier League after joining the Cherries from Juventus in 2024 for £12.8 million.

“Real Madrid and Bournemouth have reached a deal for the transfer of player Dean Huijsen, who will be at our club for the next five seasons, from June 1 2025, until June 30, 2030,” said Los Blancos in a statement.

Bournemouth confirmed Madrid had “activated a £50 million release clause”, with reports suggesting Huijsen’s former sides, Juventus and Malaga, will also profit from the deal.

Madrid moved quickly to sign the defender amid interest from several Premier League clubs for the Spain international.

Huijsen will be available for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup in the United States this summer, with their first game against Al-Hilal on June 18 in Miami.

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The defender, born in the Netherlands, moved with his family to Spain aged five and played in Malaga’s youth academy.

Huijsen made his Spain debut against the country of his birth, helping La Roja defeat the Dutch in March to reach the Nations League final four.

Real Madrid have struggled defensively this season, losing 14 games across all competitions and finishing without a major trophy.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is departing to take over the Brazil national team, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is expected to replace him in a summer of change in the Spanish capital.

Huijsen is set to be joined at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer by England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of his Liverpool deal.

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