Bournemouth never wanted this night to end, but Ruben Amorim would be happy to forget this evening on the south coast ever happened. Amorim had privately hoped to prove a point on his return to England, ten months after being sacked by Manchester United. Instead, with a few minutes left, he heard the whole ground sing: "Ruben Amorim it's happening again." He gave the crowd a smile, but this was a dismal return, complete with swirling wind and torrential rain.
Bournemouth fans were left celebrating a famous 3-0 win, a margin not remotely flattering to the visitors. The game was effectively over after 27 minutes, when AC Milan's keeper Mike Maignan was shown a red card for shoving Tyler Adams in the face. As the referee tried to defuse the fracas, Amorim paced up and down the dugout, looking like a man awaiting an inevitable fate. Moments later Marcus Tavernier comfortably stroked home a penalty to make it 2-0. By full time Amorim had taken a seat on the bench, and changing his shoes at half time had done nothing to alter his team's fortunes.
For Bournemouth, it has taken 127 years to reach Europe, and for so long the dream looked impossible. Their red and black stripes were inspired by Milan in the early 1970s, when manager John Bond wanted to capture some of the Rossoneri's magic. The Vitality Stadium crowd, many of whom remember the club scrapping to stay in the Football League, celebrated a night that seemed fanciful not long ago.
Bournemouth flew out of the blocks, with Tavernier, Justin Kluivert and Ben Gannon-Doak wrecking havoc in the Milan defence. The contrast in seasons was stark: Bournemouth have won just one of seven Premier League matches under Marco Rose, but were already two wins from two in Europe. For Amorim, it was a bitter return to England and a reminder of his previous life at United.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing