Bournemouth came from behind to beat 10-man Sparta Prague 3-1 in the Europa League, with substitutes Tyler Adams, Evanilson and Rayan combining to extend their winning run to seven matches. The victory moves Bournemouth top of the league-phase table, after a dream start to their first European campaign that has yielded four wins.
Marco Rose made eight changes from the side that beat Leeds last Saturday, but his team fell behind to Ebrima Singhateh, who scored with a wonderful solo effort in the 35th minute. He ran from his own half to end Bournemouth’s six-game streak without conceding. Just five minutes earlier, Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook had missed a penalty, sending his low shot against the inside of the left post after a handball decision.
Within two minutes of the restart, the hosts were down to 10 men. Centre-back Tobias Guddal picked up a second yellow card for needlessly hauling down striker Alvaro Rodriguez in the 37th minute.
Adams and Evanilson turn the tie
Rose brought on Adams at half-time, and he led the turnaround. In the 57th minute, the midfielder strode onto a loose ball just outside the area and placed a brilliant, first-time shot into the bottom-left corner to level the match.
Bournemouth pushed for the win, bringing on Adrian Truffert, Marcus Tavernier, Evanilson and Rayan. They needed patience to break down the resilient Czech side before a moment of quality put them ahead. Ryan Christie found Evanilson in a crowded penalty box, and with little room to manoeuvre, he shifted the ball onto his right foot and rolled an inch-perfect shot inside the right post in the 81st minute. It was his sixth goal in his last seven matches.
Rayan sealed the win in the 90th minute, sending a low shot from 25 yards into the bottom-right corner.
Managers reflect on the win
Adams reflected on the club’s recent form: “It doesn’t feel that long ago since we lost 5-1 to Chelsea and that stings a little bit, we don’t want to feel that ever again. I think we turned a page and we have been a more mature team ever since that; the way that we defend, the way that we take pride in the mentality of making sure we don’t give the opposition any opportunity to breathe.”
He also praised the squad’s depth: “Everyone is working hard every day in training, guys that aren’t playing are working hard, the guys that are playing are working hard so there’s a lot of competition but that breeds success. I’m happy with the team’s performance.”
On Evanilson, Adams said: “He’s on fire right now, you see him work on it in training, he does extra work on his finishing every day after training so for him to do it in a game is no surprise. He has so much quality, so whenever he gets in and around the box we are confident that he is going to find the back of the net.”
Rose praised his side’s response: “It was a good team performance. We changed eight players, we needed to be ready for this game because they are good opposition. We missed a penalty, struggled in some moments, they scored a nice goal but then to come back away here is a good sign to everyone in the team.”
On his half-time changes, Rose said: “Just to be clinical, be good in counter-pressing. We said we have to stay composed, increase the speed of the game and we did it really well.”
Rose also spoke about Evanilson: “It’s a joy to watch him moving and playing. He is such an important player for us. When you know you have this quality on the bench, it makes you composed as a coach.”
On the seven-match run, he added: “It’s a big achievement and we have to continue, we need to stay alert, sharp. It’s up to us to use this momentum. Everyone tries to beat us, if we get in a comfort zone just a little bit we get in trouble.”