Bournemouth produced an energetic and spirited display to clinch victory against Crystal Palace, with young Welshman David Brooks scoring a sublime curling shot after just five minutes.
Palace never really threatened in the first half but came flying out of the traps at the start of the second half, and were rewarded for the efforts through a thunderous drive by defender Patrick van Aanholt.
But a late penalty scored by Junior Stanislas was enough for Bournemouth to take all three points.
AFC BOURNEMOUTH
Key Talking Points
No doubt that much of the post match discussions will centre around young Welshman David Brooks, who capped a fantastic performance with a composed left footed curler past Wayne Hennessey. The Welshman, who only started nine games for Sheffield United last season in the Championship, was a constant threat and looked lively in attack for the Cherries.
He did pick up a needless booking after half hour and was substituted just before the hour mark, but the young midfielder would have pleased manager Eddie Howe with his contributions to the team.
Player Ratings
Star Man
Nathan Ake
🍾 Man of the Match:@afcbournemouth’s Nathan Ake 🍒🍒🍒
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) October 1, 2018
Most:
Clearances ✅ 🚮
Touches ✅👌
Passes ✅🎟
Joint-most:
Blocks ✅⛔️
Shots ✅🎯
Won 100% of aerial duels 🍾 pic.twitter.com/nY7jfwUrVO
A tough choice between the goalscorer Brooks and defender Ake, but Ake came out on top due to his resolute defending for the Cherries. Brooks was substituted with half hour still to play, so was unable to produce any more magic for Bournemouth.
Ake got his head to everything and was solid at the back throughout.
Worst Player
Callum Wilson
It was a difficult night for the forward, but he had a chance to redeem himself after Fraser played him through on goal; the forward, however, was unable to beat Hennessy in the Palace goal.
Wilson will no doubt be disappointed with his performance tonight, and Eddie Howe chose to replace the forward with six minutes remaining
CRYSTAL PALACE
Key Talking Points
We can all speculate over what Roy Hodgson said at half time to his players, but whatever it was - it worked. Palace came out like a different team in the second half, much like Bournemouth did in the first. The question is, why did they not start the first half as they started the second?
In the first half Palace were slow and struggled to get the ball out of their half. In the second half, Palace came out like a team possessed and took the game to Bournemouth who struggled to make an impact in the game second half.
Player Ratings
Patrick van Aanholt
No excuses, we gave them 3 points. thank you to the Palace fans who made the journey ❤️💙
— Patrick van Aanholt (@pvanaanholt) October 1, 2018
Luckily for the Dutchman, VAR is not implemented in the Premier League this season as if it was, his goal would almost certainly not been allowed having strayed fractionally offside after the ball from Zaha.
Worst Player
Jordan Ayew
Bournemouth have the street smarts and a little bit of an edge. We have Jordan Ayew and his stupid diamond haircut
— Bradley (@1BradleyRussell) October 1, 2018
It was a much more spirited display from the Eagles in the second half and had the 'worst player' been awarded in the first half, there would have been many candidates. However, Jordan Ayew takes the crown today as the striker failed to offer anything up front for the Eagles.
Ayew was substituted with under 10 minutes to go looking visibly annoyed with the decision to replace him but with him offering very little, it was the right choice by Roy Hodgson.
Looking Ahead
Source: 90min
