Bournemouth hammer 10-man AC Milan, Juventus denied at the death

Published Updated
0
Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert celebrates after scoring against AC Milan during their UEFA Europa League, first-round match at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, Britain, on October 22, 2026. —AFP
Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert celebrates after scoring against AC Milan during their UEFA Europa League, first-round match at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, Britain, on October 22, 2026. —AFP

Bournemouth pulled off a sensational 3-0 home win over 10-man AC Milan on Thursday, taking three wins from their opening three Europa League games.

Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier converted first-half penalties to put Bournemouth firmly in control against AC Milan, one of Europe’s leading clubs.

Milan goalkeeper and skipper Mike Maignan was sent off early for a foul on Tyler Adams, and his side never fully recovered.

Amine Adli scored a sublime 84th-minute free-kick to make it 3-0, the Premier League side having opened their inaugural Europa League campaign with victory at Real Sociedad followed by a 3-0 home win over Sturm Graz last week.

Bournemouth, who became the first English club since Sunderland in 1973/74 to win the first three European fixtures in their history, will now face Sparta Prague and Celta Vigo in November.

“It means a lot. We came off two victories, so that gave us a good feeling for this game,” Kluivert told TNT Sports. “We trust ourselves. It doesn’t matter who we play against. We know what we’re capable of, and I think we showed that today.”

Bournemouth’s Premier League rivals Crystal Palace rebounded from a 5-0 weekend thrashing by Brighton and Hove Albion to claim a 2-2 draw with Beskitas in Istanbul, while Scottish giants Celtic suffered a third successive defeat, going down 2-1 to Celta Vigo.

Bayer Leverkusen, however, also made it three straight wins with a Jonas Hofmann double earning a 2-0 away win at OFI Crete as both Juventus and Sunderland lost ground in Thursday’s third matchday.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonas Hofmann (L) scores past OFI Crete goalkeeper Klidman Lilo during their UEFA Europa League first-round match at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion, Greece, on October 22, 2026. —AFP
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonas Hofmann (L) scores past OFI Crete goalkeeper Klidman Lilo during their UEFA Europa League first-round match at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion, Greece, on October 22, 2026. —AFP

The once mighty Hungarian side Ferencvaros kept pace with Leverkusen on nine points, thumping Portuguese outfit Torreense 4-1, while Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise won 4-0 against Israeli outfit Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

Saint-Gilloise, Sunderland and Juve all have seven points from three games.

Juventus thought they had come from behind to beat French side Rennes but had their late ‘winner’ ruled out for a marginal offside.

Zeki Celik put Juve ahead after five minutes only for a poor clearance 10 minutes later allowing Musa Al-Taamari to poke home an equaliser. Just before the break, Boulaye Dia put the visitors ahead.

Juventus made it 2-2 thanks to a handball and a spot-kick transformed by Nick Woltemade before VAR provided the biggest talking point, disallowing Jhon Lucumi’s 88th-minute strike.

Juventus’ Nick Woltemade scores from the penalty spot past Rennes goalkeeper Brice Samba during their UEFA Europa League first-round match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, on October 22, 2026. —Reuters
Juventus’ Nick Woltemade scores from the penalty spot past Rennes goalkeeper Brice Samba during their UEFA Europa League first-round match at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, on October 22, 2026. —Reuters

In Poland, Clad in a new all-pink kit, Sunderland were left kicking themselves after a 1-1 draw against Lech Poznan.

The Blacks Cats took a second-minute lead in Poznan thanks to Timur Tutierov and dominated the game without being able to close out the win.

With two home games remaining, however, the second round still beckons for Regis Le Bris’ side.

Olympique de Marseille went down 1-0 to Sturm Graz while Olympique Lyonnais suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Hoffenheim.

In the Conference League, former Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah opened the scoring from the penalty spot in Trabzonspor’s 2-0 win over Scottish side Hearts.

Brighton were held to a 0-0 draw at Czech side Jablonec, as AS Monaco thumped Freiburg 3-0 and Ajax snuck a 2-0 win over Atalanta.

Opinion

Editorial

Makkah pact clarity
Updated 22 Oct, 2026

Makkah pact clarity

Fresh aggression can kick off a firestorm that will be in no one’s control, hence it is best to abandon such reckless plans.
Common ground
Updated 22 Oct, 2026

Common ground

Regrettably, the two sides still fail to see the country’s economic, security, and governance crises as challenges that must be solved politically.
The treatment gap
22 Oct, 2026

The treatment gap

A BREAST cancer diagnosis no longer carries the bleak outlook it did a generation ago. Targeted medicines,...
Real FBR reform
21 Oct, 2026

Real FBR reform

REFORM of the FBR has always been easier to promise than to deliver. Since the late 1990s, governments have tried...
Missing lawmakers
Updated 21 Oct, 2026

Missing lawmakers

Some lawmakers have reportedly been in detention since before Oct 11.
Tackling rabies
21 Oct, 2026

Tackling rabies

RABIES is a deadly but preventable zoonotic disease. On Monday, two more victims succumbed to it in Sindh, taking ...