AFC Bournemouth’s record signing Evanilson on Monday scored his first goal for the club as the Cherries beat Southampton 3-1 in the English Premier League.
The Brazilian international sparked a three-goal blitz from the hosts in the opening 39 minutes as Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo also struck.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis pulled a goal back for Saints early in the second half, but they remain in the bottom three and without a win since their return to the Premier League.
Photo: AFP
Bournemouth climb above Manchester United into 11th with their second win of the campaign.
Evanilson has big shoes to fill as the replacement for Dominic Solanke, who departed to Tottenham Hotspur in August for a club record fee.
The ￡40 million (US$53.4 million) striker did not get off to a good start as he missed a penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in Bournemouth’s last home game.
However, he banished those memories by latching onto Marcus Tavernier’s quickly taken free-kick on 17 minutes.
“It is a goal we’ve been expecting of Evanilson,” said Bournemouth assistant manager Tommy Elphick, who was deputizing for suspended boss Andoni Iraola. “He is so intelligent and makes such cute runs. We haven’t been finding him enough, so I’m pleased for him.”
Ouattara was then in the right place to deflect Lewis Cook’s shot past Aaron Ramsdale.
Semenyo has so far filled the void left by Solanke and his fierce drive found the bottom corner for his third goal in six Premier League appearances this season.
It was a familiar tale for Southampton as their dominance of possession counted for little in terms of points.
Russell Martin’s men sit second from bottom with just one point from their opening six games.
“I am so hurt by the first-half performance after the first goal. I didn’t recognize our team,” Martin said. “There was no aggression or courage. They were looking around and in self-preservation mode on the pitch. I didn’t like it one bit. They showed fight in the second half, but it was too late.”
Last season, all three promoted sides were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since 1997-1998.
The early evidence of this season also suggests the gulf between the Championship and the top tier is becoming increasingly difficult to breach for teams coming up.
Ipswich Town and Leicester City have also failed to register a win in their opening six league matches, but do at least sit outside the bottom three.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
RSS