Bournemouth beat AC Milan 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night, and the margin flattered the seven-time European champions. Two first-half penalties from Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier, a straight red card for Mike Maignan and a late Amine Adli free-kick gave Marco Rose’s side a third successive Europa League win — and made Bournemouth the first English club to win its opening three European games of a campaign since 1973.
Milan managed three shots all evening and not one on target. Bournemouth had 20, seven of them on target, and finished with an expected goals figure of 3.11 to Milan’s 0.11. “There was no game after 20 minutes,” Rossoneri head coach Ruben Amorim said afterwards. “We need to avoid our mistakes.”
Two penalties, a red card, and no contest
The first mistake arrived inside five minutes. Evanilson’s header drifted wide but struck the arm of Koni De Winter, and Kluivert sent Maignan the wrong way from the spot on eight minutes. The symmetry was hard to miss: the goal came 31 years and 151 days after his father, Patrick, scored the winner against Milan in the 1995 Champions League final.
Milan’s night unravelled completely in the 27th minute. At a Bournemouth corner, Maignan shoved his gloves into Tyler Adams’ face and pushed the United States midfielder to the ground in front of the referee. The red card was straight and uncontested, making Maignan the first Milan goalkeeper ever dismissed in a major European competition. Lorenzo Torriani came on in his place with no time to settle.
Tavernier converted the second penalty on 32 minutes, and from there Bournemouth simply kept the ball moving in driving rain, pressing a ten-man side that had stopped trying to play out. Adli applied the finish the performance deserved on 84 minutes, bending a left-footed free-kick beyond Torriani. Bournemouth created four clear chances; Milan created none.
“The way they did it was brilliant from the first minute until the last minute,” Rose said. “We played a really good game.”
League Two in 2010, Milan in 2026
The scale of this is easy to understate. The Vitality Stadium was hosting League Two football as recently as 2010, and this is Bournemouth’s first European campaign in the club’s history. They have now won all three league-phase matches: 2-1 away at Real Sociedad, 3-0 at home to Sturm Graz, and now this. Only Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Ferencváros and Olympiacos share that perfect record.
It sits oddly alongside their domestic form. Bournemouth are 15th in the Premier League and Rose spent last week asking his players to “stick together” through a difficult run. Europe has become the part of the season that works — a competition where a mid-table English club has outplayed a Serie A champion of four years ago without needing anything close to its best league form.
For Milan, the damage is structural rather than sentimental. A top-eight finish, and the bye to the last 16 that comes with it, is now in real jeopardy, and Amorim’s side must negotiate the remaining matchdays without the goalkeeper who has been their most reliable performer. A suspension follows the red card.
The wider picture — with one caveat
This was a strong week for English clubs in Europe, though not a flawless one:
- Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal
- Manchester City 5-1 AEK Athens
- Aston Villa 3-1 Viking
- Bayern Munich 2-2 Arsenal
- Beşiktaş 2-2 Crystal Palace
- Lech Poznań 1-1 Sunderland
- Como 4-1 Manchester United
Four wins, three draws and one defeat from eight fixtures. Liverpool and Aston Villa carry perfect records into the Champions League’s fourth matchday; Arsenal remain unbeaten on seven points after holding Bayern in Munich. The outlier is Manchester United, beaten 4-1 at Como in a result that has consumed the English game’s attention since Tuesday and serves as a reminder that broadcast revenue guarantees nothing on the night.
Still, the broader pattern holds. The Premier League’s depth is now such that its 15th-placed club can dismantle Milan, while Palace and Sunderland — both competing in Europe for the first time in years — go to Istanbul and Poznań and come away unbeaten.
Bournemouth travel to face Rennes on matchday four with nine points banked and qualification already within reach. Rose’s immediate problem is converting that European authority into Premier League points, starting at home this weekend. On Thursday’s evidence, the players are capable of it. The question is why it has only shown up on Thursday nights.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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