Bournemouth 3-0 Aston Villa: Adli, Cook and Rodríguez book a quarter-final at Liverpool

Bournemouth made a one-off cup tie look straightforward. Amine Adli scored inside seven minutes, Lewis Cook doubled the lead early in the second half and Álvaro Rodríguez finished the job in the 69th, and Aston Villa never found a way back into the fourth-round game at the Vitality Stadium.

Both clubs rotated, as Premier League sides with other priorities tend to in this competition. Bournemouth's team had a settled look around Michele Di Gregorio in goal, with Cook, Ryan Christie and Marcus Tavernier in midfield. Villa, who were also playing in the Champions League this autumn, started Ibrahim Mbaye, George Hemmings and Leon Goretzka, and kept John McGinn, Alejandro Garnacho and Tammy Abraham on the bench until later in the game.

Goal by goal

1. 7' — Amine Adli (assist: Julio Soler) 1-0
2. 51' — Lewis Cook (assist: Ben Gannon-Doak) 2-0
3. 69' — Álvaro Rodríguez (assist: Tyler Adams) 3-0

The early goal set the tone. Soler's pass found Adli and Bournemouth led before Villa had settled. Villa's night then became about damage limitation: Emiliano Buendía was booked in the 12th minute and Brian Madjo in the 33rd, and João Gomes followed after the break. Cook's goal, set up by Gannon-Doak six minutes into the second half, made it two. Rodríguez's, set up by substitute Tyler Adams, closed the tie.

The numbers

Villa had slightly more of the ball and passed it well, yet the shots-on-target count of 7 to 5 and the corner count of 6 to 2 both leaned towards the hosts. Sky Sports put the combined shot total at 36, an open game in which Bournemouth were sharper in front of goal. Cook, Gannon-Doak and Juanlu Sanchez were booked for the hosts.

Line-ups

• AFC Bournemouth (4-1-4-1): Di Gregorio, Silva, Diakité, Cook, Soler, Juanlu Sanchez, Christie, Tavernier, Adli, Gannon-Doak, Rodríguez. Substitutes used: Kroupi, Brooks, Rayan, Kluivert, Adams.
• Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Bizot, Mings, Harwood-Bellis, Maatsen, Bogarde, Buendía, Goretzka, Gomes, Madjo, Hemmings, Mbaye. Substitutes used: McGinn, Alysson, Barkley, Garnacho, Abraham.

A cup run with momentum

This was Bournemouth's second tie of the competition. As a Premier League side without European football they entered in the third round, where they beat Lincoln City 4-0 on 8 September in Marco Rose's first competitive win in charge. Together the two ties read 7-0 on aggregate with no goal conceded. The league form behind it was just as healthy: three days earlier Bournemouth had won 3-0 away at Manchester United, and on 18 October they had beaten Sunderland 2-0 at home.

Villa's rotation

Villa arrived in decent shape elsewhere, with a 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester City on 24 October and a 3-1 Champions League win over Viking a few days earlier. The Carabao Cup was the competition that gave way. This defeat ended their run in the competition.

What's next

The result sends Bournemouth into the quarter-finals, which are played from 15 to 17 December 2026. Their tie is away at Liverpool, scheduled for 16 December at 20:00. Villa return to Premier League business, with Fulham next on 31 October.