Bournemouth

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose speaking to Uefa: "I feel really good. I'm proud of the club, happy for the fans and proud of the lads. It was a great evening, a great result and a brilliant performance in every aspect. We were really sharp in everything, played our game and, it's a deserved win.

"The way we got into the game, the effort, the attitude, the way we won balls and put pressure on Milan was great. We created chances, scored an early goal and kept the pressure high. This was Bournemouth, and this is what we wanted to show."

Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie speaking to TNT Sports: "What a night. The boys spoke about it before the game, listen it's a special night for the club but it becomes a lot more special if you go and win the game. Amazing, it's been such an experience playing in Europe, the fans have been amazing, the whole infrastructure the club have brought, in terms of the whole atmosphere coming into tonight and last week as well. It's incredible. It's a run of good results now, we need to keep going."

On what it means to the fans: "It's mega. In terms of the story of the club it's ridiculous. Someone told me today, 15 years ago today we were 17th in League One I think so it's pretty incredible. So many of these fans have been here for this journey so to have nights like this and win as well is special."

On momentum: "Now that we've got that bit of momentum. I think it's crucial when you've got so many games one after the other you just try and roll into the next one and keep the positivity. With the amount of games we've got, the gaffer has to use everyone in the squad and to be fair everyone has shown they can be called upon, the boys that came in tonight. Incredible tonight to come in and perform like that against a top team. Positivity going into the weekend."

• Listen to more from Rose above or on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Bournemouth have become the first English side to win each of their first three games in major European competition since Sunderland back in October 1973.

• The Cherries netted twice from the penalty spot in the first half of a game (any competition) for the first time since November 2024 v Wolves in the Premier League.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies.

There are 18 games in both the Europa League and the Conference League on Thursday - with Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland involved in the former, and Brighton the latter - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Jablonev v Brighton (17:45)

• Lech Poznan v Sunderland (17:45)

• Besiktas v Crystal Palace

• Bournemouth v AC Milan

Kick-off times 20:00 BST unless stated. See the fixture list in full here

Follow all of the action and reaction here

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Image source, Getty Images

Owner Bill Foley believes Bournemouth is the "right place" for midfielder Alex Scott to be and says the Cherries have not given up hope of the midfielder signing a new contract.

The 23-year-old England international has a £100m asking price after a £64m offer from Chelsea was rejected in the summer.

Speaking to Talksport, Foley said: "At this point, we're convinced we're the right place for Alex to be and to stay, and we'll keep on addressing the contract issues with Alex as we move through this year.

"We'd love to have Alex stay here and sign a new contract and be part of this team for the long haul.

"We haven't given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes and they think that Chelsea or Manchester City is the right place to go."

Scott, who is sidelined with a thigh injury suffered on England duty, is contracted to Bournemouth until June 2028.

"It's not long ago we were playing Oldham Athletic and Hartlepool United in League One. Now I'm about to watch us play AC Milan. It's absolute madness," says Bournemouth fan Kirk Tovey.

"I'm pinching myself."

Fifteen years to the day since Bournemouth lost 2-1 at home to Bury in the third tier of English football, the Cherries host seven-time champions of Europe AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday (20:00 BST).

It is a game between the club that refused to die against the 11-time European Cup finalists on what promises to be a momentous night in Bournemouth's 127-year history.

While Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium is comfortably the smallest in the Premier League in terms of capacity, work is under way to expand it and last week's attendance figure of 12,070 for the 3-0 Europa League win over Sturm Graz was easily their highest of the 21st century.

Another 12,000-plus will pack in for the visit of an AC Milan team managed by former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, with many fans resigned to watching the match on television after missing out on a ticket.

The visitors are fourth in Serie A on 15 points from seven games, four points behind leaders and arch-rivals Inter Milan.

It is 19 years since they were last crowned champions of Europe and four years since they won the last of their 19 Serie A titles.

"They are not the team they used to be," says Tovey from the Cherries Red Army fan channel.

"This is not the AC Milan of Kaka, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Filippo Inzaghi or Clarence Seedorf. But they are still seven-time champions of Europe and they are a massive football club.

"When the draw came out and you looked at the eight teams we were drawn against, AC Milan was the one everyone went 'wow'."

Hear how the Cherries drew inspiration from AC Milan's red and black kit from club historian Neil Vacher below, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Kluivert says it was an "amazing feeling" to reach the Europa League final in 2016-17 but now he would "really like to achieve" something similar with Bournemouth.

The 27-year-old netted the Cherries' first-ever goal in European competition in a historic 2-1 win over Real Sociedad last month.

Speaking in a pre-match news conference, before Bournemouth take on AC Milan on Thursday night, Kluivert said: "I remember being in the Europa League final just six months into my time in Ajax's first team.

"We lost to Manchester United, but it was an amazing feeling. Now that I'm older and I haven't been in any more finals, I know how special that moment was.

"It was a beautiful achievement and something I would really like to achieve - and I believe we can achieve - at Bournemouth this season."

When asked if he ever envisaged playing in Europe when he signed for Bournemouth in June 2023, Kluivert replied: "This club has done a good job of attracting players that have already played in European competition before, so it is clear the owner has always been ambitious.

"It is a big credit to him for finding and recruiting these types of players. We have reached the Europa League now so it is time to show our ability at this level, as we have done before.

"AC Milan on Thursday and Manchester United on Sunday is what you dream of as a little boy. You don't need motivation for these kinds of games."

He also provided a special message to Cherries fans before what will be "a special occasion" at the Vitality Stadium: "It is going to be a battle of the red and black stripes.

"I want to hear them cheering a lot, as they've done in our previous games. Please don't stop singing, chanting and enjoying the night with us, even if it is raining.

"Let's try to enjoy it all together. It is going to be a special night that every single person will enjoy and we will try to be victorious for you."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against AC Milan at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There are no new injury concerns following the 2-0 win over Sunderland, with Adrien Truffert set to be available despite suffering from cramp due to "a lack of playing rhythm" on Sunday.

• Eli Junior Kroupi, who has been recovering from a foot injury picked up in pre-season, is back in first-team training. He isn't on the club's Uefa squad list, but he might be able to "play some minutes" against Manchester United in the Premier League.

• Veljko Milosavljevic has almost completed his return from a long-term quad injury, with the centre-back currently building up match fitness with the under-21s.

• When asked how far Alex Scott is from first-team training, Rose said: "We needed to see how he would respond to the load. The response wasn't perfect on the first day, but it has been much better following that. We will now look to step up his training plan, but he won't be available for the next two weeks."

• The reason for squad rotation is "sometimes about caring for a player and sometimes about the opponent's qualities", but "freshness on the pitch, avoiding injuries and winning games" are the main aims.

• On whether this is the biggest game in Bournemouth's 126-year history: "It is a huge game and we are looking forward to it, but the club has played a much bigger game before. Many years ago, after the points deduction, they needed to win their last game at home [against Grimsby] and Steve Fletcher scored the winning goal. That's the foundation of why we are here now, playing these kinds of games."

• It will be important to "not make the game bigger than what it is" because they are back in Premier League action again on Sunday and they already have six points on the board in Europe.

• He added: "If we're able to clarify our situation in this competition, it will make things easier going forward. We have many games before the international break so, for that reason, we should grab everything that we can. We will be going full in on Thursday."

• On going into the fixture off the back of two impressive wins, having scored five goals and kept two clean sheets: "We feel we're in a good spot. We have created a good momentum for ourselves now and we should use that to our advantage."

• After reaching the Europa League semi-finals in his first-ever campaign at Salzburg in 2017-18, Rose believes his Bournemouth side can "compete with everyone in the competition" this season.

• Ruben Amorim, who has not lost a single Serie A match since taking over in June, is "a top coach" who has developed something "completely different" at AC Milan compared to Manchester United.

• For that reason, the Cherries boss anticipates a "tough game" against a side with "a clear but flexible style, individual quality, plus good pressing and counter-pressing ability".

Manchester United are plotting a major defensive overhaul next summer, with 24-year-old Bournemouth and France defender Adrien Truffert a target. (i news), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, PA Media

In Victorian times, doctors would often prescribe a short visit to Bournemouth as a "rest cure", with the sea air thought to help patients convalesce.

For Marco Rose's Cherries side, enjoying the comforts of home have been paramount this week, with the first two of a run of three home games in eight days bringing back-to-back victories - and back-to-back clean sheets - against Sturm Graz and Sunderland.

I wrote on these pages a week ago that two home wins would bring the feelgood factor back - and though they were contrasting occasions, Rose and his staff will hope the week represents a turning point in their fortunes.

The first home European tie of Bournemouth's 127-year history was always going to be an emotional occasion, even for the 1,900 hardy souls who had also witnessed September's winning debut game at Real Sociedad.

On paper, Sturm Graz were weaker opposition than Sociedad, which the 3-0 scoreline ultimately reflected as the Austrians were dispatched in style in front of Bournemouth's highest home attendance since 1989.

But Sunday's 2-0 success against fellow EuropaLeague qualifiers Sunderland means Rose finally has a Premier League win under his belt, and a significant monkey off his back.

Although the Black Cats were fortunate to only concede twice, with Bournemouth registering 29 shots and an expected goals (xG) figure of 4.32, it feels churlish to be critical after such a landmark victory.

The Cherries can now enjoy Thursday's visit of Italian giants AC Milan, undoubtedly the marquee fixture of their Europa League group-stage schedule, without undue pressure, and can take confidence to out-of-sorts Manchester United on Sunday, at a ground where they have enjoyed some fine results in recent seasons.

And they can approach both games with smiles on their faces - so, just what the doctor ordered?

Explore Bournemouth content on BBC Sounds

Liverpool and Manchester United are among several Premier League clubs interested in Borussia Dortmund's Germany midfielder Felix Nmecha, with Liverpool viewing the £84m-rated 26-year-old as an alternative to Bournemouth's England international Alex Scott, 23. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington has praised Evanilson's "exceptional" performances against Sturm Graz in the Europa League and Sunderland in the Premier League, with the striker netting in back-to-back games.

The 27-year-old has scored three goals and contributed four assists across nine appearances this season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent's Cherries Unpicked podcast about Evanilson's goal and assist, which helped Marco Rose's side secure their first Premier League win of the season, Partington said: "He is always pretty good, but I would say he was exceptional.

"He is one of those players that never really gets total credit unless he scores because he is a striker, so it was nice to see him get an assist and then put his goal away.

"His overall play was brilliant, especially when he contributed to Kevin Danso being sent off early in the game by chasing somewhat of a lost cause.

"I don't think we gave enough credit to the header he scored against Sturm Graz midweek because that was exceptional as well. It feels like he is in a real nice rhythm at the moment.

"Regardless of where he plays, I feel he is pretty central to Marco Rose's plans this season - and so he should be because he was by far and away the best player on the pitch against Sunderland."

On Evanilson's neat 48th-minute finish, Partington added: "It was smooth. I think people call it 'flow state' when you find yourself in a rhythm where you're just totally in control of what you're doing.

"He looked balanced, his first touch was where he wanted it to be - he needed to get on the other side of the defenders and he managed to use his body to do that. It just all came together at the right time for him.

"The only question mark I've got around him being a number nine is whether he has that selfishness to score goals. There is no way Brett Pitman would have squared that ball to Marcus Tavernier in the fifth minute.

"Evanilson doesn't quite have that cutting edge. I would say it's maybe the reason why he doesn't have as many goals to his name, but he is still a brilliant player."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Bournemouth and Sunderland.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Malcolm: Another good team performance following on from the victory over Sturm Graz on Thursday. Evanilson led the line superbly with an assist and a goal as well as his tireless workrate. The defence looked solid, not allowing Sunderland any clear-cut chances. Got to feel for the Sunderland fans making that long journey and not seeing a performance from their team.

Mikeh: Much improved against a woeful Sunderland, but missed chances are a bit concerning. Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier were terrific. Bring on Milan!

Gary: Marco Rose, like Andoni Iraola, needs time for the team to understand his preferred style of play. It will come good for him, I am sure. Evanilson could be central to Rose's style of play. I hope he is showing signs of doing so with his goals in recent games.

J: Bournemouth are getting better but in January they need to buy at least two more defenders. The squad should have been increased before the season started to take into account possible injuries and the extra matches in Europe.

Sunderland fans

Stephen: The Bournemouth game has demonstrated the club needs a massive rethink - we are sleepwalking into a terrible season. Bournemouth, who also played on Thursday, ran rings around us and we had no answers.

Denise: We've lost games and played well. The Bournemouth game was different, we were absolute rubbish. I know a single bad performance does not define our overall skill level and every player has matches where nothing clicks, but we are consistently making the same mistakes and don't appear to be learning from them.

Kevin: The club need to decide now - European jollies or Premier League survival. Field teams accordingly. I prefer Premier League survival - we need to build on last year.

Jura: Absolutely embarrassing. We were ragged, lethargic, sloppy, disorganised. If we don't find answers soon, it's Championship football for us next season.

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose is finally up and running in the Premier League after beating Sunderland 2-0.

BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark and former Cherries defender Joe Partington assess the performance on the latest episode of Cherries Unpicked.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Bournemouth content on BBC Sounds

Bournemouth could ask for more than £100m for English midfielder Alex Scott, 23, who is attracting interest from Chelsea and Liverpool. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose, speaking to Sky Sports: "Congrats to everyone at the club, to the lads, to our fans. They were really patient the last couple of weeks, even [though] we didn't get the points out of the game. Important win.

"We talked about it in the half-time that we stick to the plan, nothing changed, we stayed focus, we stay intense, we move them, we tried to find the game and to try and score the second goal. Everything today we forced with our intensity, even the red card. We were quite sharp in these kinds of moments and that's why we have a clean sheet, we scored two goals and we won the game.

"We were quite dominant, we were intense. I felt even in the locker room and yesterday in training that we wanted to force this win with everything we have. It's a mentality."

Did you know?

• Bournemouth have lost just one of their last 15 home games across all competitions (W6 D8), with this the first time since January that they've won successive matches at the Vitaly Stadium.

• Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier struck his 22nd Premier League goal in this match with 14 of those now coming as match openers – it's the highest percentage of any player to score 20+ goals in competition history in terms of strikes that have come as match openers (64%).

Listen to more match reaction from James Hill below or on BBC Sounds

Chris McKenna
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Marcus Tavernier is a tone setter for this Bournemouth team this season.

The Englishman has now scored four goals this season – he is their top scorer – and three of them have been openers in games.

This time it helped lead to a first league victory which will help build confidence in Marco Rose's team.

They have had some positive performances but were thrashed last week at Chelsea for their third defeat of the season which meant they needed to respond here.

They were obviously helped by Sunderland's calamity defending but with games against Manchester United, Aston Villa and Leeds United to come in the Premier League with a European date with Italian giants AC Milan before that run, it was a timely victory to lift them up the table.

If Tavernier and Evanilson can keep up this form then they will be a real challenge for those teams in the next few weeks.