AFC Bournemouth scaled giddy new heights in their debut Europa League campaign as 10-man AC Milan were convincingly brushed aside 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday. The Italian giants, champions of Serie A only four years ago, were wretched, unable to match Marco Rose's team, who pressed them ruthlessly and attacked breathlessly in torrential conditions on the south coast.
The first two goals were penalties scored in the first half, by Justin Kluivert and then Marcus Tavernier, before Amine Adli added a magnificent late free kick. The home side ought to have had even more to show for their dominance. Milan goalkeeper and captain Mike Maignan let his team and manager Ruben Amorim down badly, swiping at the face of Tyler Adams at a corner. He conceded a spot kick and was sent off, leaving his side to play for more than an hour with 10 players.
Bournemouth have looked perfectly at home on their maiden European adventure, but even so, this fixture had an almost surreal sound to it, with the seven-time champions of Europe taking a hammering on a pitch that was hosting League Two football as recently as 2010. A huge tifo in the North Stand before kick-off read "How did we end up here?", but Bournemouth's display suggested this might be just the beginning for them in Europe.
The win, Bournemouth's third in three outings, makes Rose's side the first English team to win its first three European games at the start of a campaign since 1973.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing