A deflected Marcus Tavernier strike was enough to earn Bournemouth their first Premier League win of the season and condemn 10-man Wolves to a second straight defeat.
Both teams were hoping to bounce back from opening-day losses but, other than an early Marshall Munetsi chance, the Cherries were far more composed, organised and dangerous in the opening stages and deservedly took an early lead.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s poor pass on the edge of Wolves’ area allowed Antoine Semenyo to pick out Tavernier, whose low shot took a wicked deflection off Emmanuel Agbadou before ending up in the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Semenyo rattled the bar from David Brooks’ cross as Bournemouth sought to press home their advantage while at the other end Djordje Petrovic was forced into a smart one-handed save from Jorgen Strand Larsen’s shot.
But the visitors’ hopes of clawing their way back into the contest suffered a major blow when Toti Gomes was shown a straight red card for bringing down Cherries striker Evanilson as last man, leaving his team a man light for the majority of the second half.
Jose Sa made a fine save from Tyler Adams’ long-range drive to keep Wolves in the game but Bournemouth saw out the final stages to claim a deserved three points.
Bournemouth analysis: Cherries build on Anfield display
Bournemouth may have left Anfield empty-handed in last Friday’s Premier League opener but their display in that 4-2 defeat by champions Liverpool offered plenty of encouragment for manager Andoni Iraola.
The 43-year-old’s decision to field an unchanged XI at Vitality Stadium came as little surprise – despite the availability of fit-again Justin Kluivert and Ryan Christie as well as recent signings Amine Adli and Ben Gannon-Doak – and was vindicated by the Cherries’ fast start.
A 2-0 scoreline would have been a fair reflection of Bournemouth’s early superiority but Semenyo somehow managed to turn Brooks’ delivery against the bar five minutes after Tavernier’s opener.
Jhon Arias missed a good opportunity to level for Wolves not long after half-time but Toti’s dismissal moments later left Bournemouth firmly in the driving seat and allowed Iraola to give valuable minutes to Christie, Adli and Kluivert in the second period.
Adli – part of the Leverkusen team that won the Bundesliga in 2023-24 – was particularly sharp after coming on for the impressive Brooks, stretching the Wolves defence as the visitors looked to salvage something from the game late on.
Given the Cherries’ fine start though, Moroccan Adli and his fellow substitutes have their work cut out in forcing their way back into Iraola’s side.
