AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland: first win of the season arrives against ten men

AFC Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium, Marcus Tavernier heading in Evanilson's cross inside six minutes before Evanilson added a second of his own just after half-time. Sunderland played the last 73 minutes with ten men after Kevin Danso was sent off in the 17th.

Bournemouth made the numerical advantage count without needing much time to do it: they had already scored twice and were dominating the ball, finishing with 65% of the possession, 29 shots to Sunderland's 3, and six on target to none. Sunderland's resistance held until Evanilson's second goal six minutes after the restart, by which point the game had long stopped being a contest.

Match facts

• 6' — Marcus Tavernier (AFC Bournemouth), header, assist Evanilson
• 17' — Kevin Danso (Sunderland) sent off
• 48' — Evanilson (AFC Bournemouth)
• Yellow cards: António Silva (26'), Lewis Cook (45'+6') and Ryan Christie (79') for AFC Bournemouth; Omar Alderete (40') and Chris Rigg (65') for Sunderland

Line-ups

• AFC Bournemouth (4-1-4-1): Djordje Petrovic; António Silva, James Hill, Tyler Adams, Adrien Truffert; Adam Smith; Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Marcus Tavernier, Rayan; Evanilson
• Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Robin Roefs; Omar Alderete, Kevin Danso, Reinildo Mandava, Nordi Mukiele; Chris Rigg, Noah Sadiki; Granit Xhaka, Tymur Tutierov, Enzo Le Fée; Trai Hume

A red card that decided the afternoon early

Danso's dismissal arrived with barely a quarter of an hour played, and the numbers that followed make the case for how much it cost Sunderland: 29 shots to 3, and 65% of a possession count shaped as much by a team down to ten men for the best part of an hour and a quarter as by anything Bournemouth needed to force.

Both sides had arrived short of form. Bournemouth had not won a single league game all season — three draws and three defeats in their first six matches — while Sunderland came in on one win in six, including a 0-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion only a week earlier. Saturday's result was Bournemouth's first Premier League win of the season, at the seventh attempt.

What this does to the table

Bournemouth had gone into the weekend 19th on 3 points; their first win of the season takes them to 6 points and 15th place, above Coventry City on goal difference. Sunderland, who had sat 18th on 4 points, remain on 4 but drop to 19th, one point clear of bottom-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

What's next

Bournemouth travel to Manchester United on Sunday 25 October, looking to build on a first win of the season. Sunderland host Leeds United the same afternoon, needing a response of their own.