Bournemouth 4-1 Leicester: Relegation-threatened hosts run riot
If Bournemouth achieve the improbable and extend their stay in the Premier League, they will be thanking Leicester City for many months to come.
Midway through the second half, the visitors led 1-0 thanks to Jamie Vardy’s 23rd goal of the season and were in command. They were cruising back into third in the table and sending Eddie Howe’s team to the brink of relegation.
Then, within a minute, Leicester imploded, prompting manager Brendan Rodgers to apologise to the supporters and label his team ‘soft’. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel blasted the ball against team-mate Wilfred Ndidi, who fouled Callum Wilson for a penalty converted by half-time substitute Junior Stanislas.
There is some hope for Bournemouth after they came from behind to get a big win on Sunday
Jamie Vardy wheels away in celebration after opening the scoring for Leicester on Sunday
Bournemouth got an equaliser through a penalty after a mistake from Kasper Schmeichel
Seconds later, Dominic Solanke put Bournemouth ahead with his first Premier League goal in 39 games, and Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off in the aftermath for a reckless kick at Callum Wilson.
Leicester’s nerves were shredded and further strikes from Stanislas and Solanke – four goals in 21 minutes – gave Bournemouth a precious victory.
The Cherries are now just three points from safety with three games left.
‘We wouldn’t have been able to do it (stay up) if we hadn’t won here,’ said Howe.
‘It keeps us alive keeps us in there.
‘It is probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced during my time at the club.
‘We found something from somewhere and against the odds we showed great qualities.
‘We’ll need them even more in the next three games.’
Leicester, meanwhile, may come to see this as the day their Champions League hopes slipped away.
Brendan Rodgers’ team have had a fine season but it will be hard to recover from this, and they returned north hoping desperately hoping that Manchester City’s two-year Champions League would not be overturned on Monday.
If that is the case, fifth place should be good enough for qualification.
Schmeichel apologised to the Leicester fans and appeared to question his team-mates’ bravery and commitment as he warned them they could finish the season empty-handed.
Dominic Solanke scores the goal which put Bournemouth ahead in the second half of the game
Bournemouth keeper Aaron Ramsdale helps Dan Gosling to his feet after Vardy’s early goal
He said: ‘I have to take accountability for [the mistake]. I am very, very sorry to the fans for the second half particularly.
‘We have to work harder if we are going to achieve anything this season. If you don’t have the courage to have the ball, if you don’t track your runners, you don’t deserve anything.’
Rodgers was similarly scathing. The Leicester manager said: ‘In the second half we were too soft in too many ways.
‘That was not acceptable for a Leicester team and I say a big apology to the fans watching.
‘We missed a huge opportunity to jump into third. I understand why fans are angry. We lacked spirit and attitude when we went to 10 men and we’ve never been like that during my time here.
Leicester striker Vardy tries a shot on goal during the first half against Bournemouth
Leicester’s Jonny Evans clatters into the back of Ake as they both go up to try and get the ball
‘It was a stupid reaction [from Soyuncu]. We lacked personality in the second half and we have shown too much of late that we are a 45-minute team.’
Bournemouth had not won a Premier League game since February, when they overcame relegation rivals Aston Villa here, and the absence of Joshua King due to a hamstring injury was an early blow.
Following their post-lockdown wobble, Leicester had collected four points from their previous two matches and they took the lead just before the first drinks break. Ayoze Perez robbed Dan Gosling near the Cherries box and fed Iheanacho. The striker then lifted the ball over Aaron Ramsdale and Lloyd Kelly cleared it straight to Vardy, who forced it in.
Vardy could have had his second in the 38th minute when Arnaut Danjuma bizarrely passed the ball straight to the Leicester forward, who was denied by a brilliant block from Nathan Ake. Ake was injured in the challenge on Vardy and replaced by Steve Cook.
Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake limps off the pitch after picking up an injury during the first half
Schmeichel made a fine stop to keep out David Brooks’ 25-yard strike in first-half stoppage time – the first serious piece of work the Dane had had to do until then.
Howe made two more substitutions at half-time, including Stanislas, switched to a back three and moved Brooks, his most creative player, into the centre.
But it made limited difference until Schmeichel hammered the ball against the back of Ndidi, who was looking the other way. Wilson seized on the mistake and was brought down by Ndidi, allowing Stanislas to send Schmeichel the wrong way from the spot after the inevitable VAR check.
Barely a minute later, Bournemouth took a remarkable lead. Solanke ran on to Wilson’s flick, cut inside and although Schmeichel half-stopped the shot, it had enough power on it to trickle into the corner.
Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson tries to take the ball past Leicester’s Caglar Soyuncu (left)
Solanke scores his second goal, threading the ball through goalkeeper Schmeichel’s legs
What a time to break your Premier League duck. In the melee that followed the goal, Soyuncu aimed a boot at Wilson as they tussled for the ball in the net, and the Turkish defender was shown a straight red card.
Leicester could not come to terms with what had happened to them and under the circumstances, the two chaotic goals that followed were no surprise.
First Stanislas’ angled shot took a huge deflection off Jonny Evans and left Schmeichel helpless. And with three minutes remaining, Christian Fuchs gave the ball away following a throw-in and Solanke was in again, prodding the ball through the legs of Schmeichel to complete an amazing comeback.
Recap all the action as it happened below.
