Donyell Malen celebrates scoring Aston Villa’s fourth goal (Nigel French/PA Wire)
Aston Villa cruised to a fourth straight home Premier League victory brushing Bournemouth aside 4-0 at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side had only scored nine goals in the league coming into the match but put their goalscoring woes to bed to dispatch Andoni Iraola’s below-par Cherries with ease.
Emiliano Buendia’s sublime free-kick put them on track for a fifth win from six before Amadou Onana’s cracker from range doubled their lead.
Villa had to withstand a spell of Bournemouth pressure but Emiliano Martinez produced a string of fine saves to keep their lead intact, including a one-handed stop to deny denied Antoine Semenyo from the penaly spot after Morgan Rogers handled.
Villa then made the match safe as substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen struck to wrap up victory and deliver a first four-goal haul of the campaign.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth LIVE: Premier League updatesAston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Villa put four past Bournemouth in a dominant 4-0 home victory! A huge win for the hosts against a fellow European contender, as they overpowered the Cherries in every department. Aston Villa struck twice in the first half, with Buendia and Onana both scoring superb efforts from outside the box to give the hosts a comfortable lead at the break. Bournemouth responded positively after the restart and had chances to get back into the game. Their best opening came when Scott’s deflected effort almost looped over Martinez, only for the Argentinian to stretch and tip it over brilliantly. Soon after, Evanilson hit the post from a corner and was again involved when his header struck Rogers’ arm, earning Bournemouth a penalty. Semenyo stepped up, but Martinez made a superb save down to his right to deny the comeback. From there, Villa took full control. Substitute Barkley headed in from a corner to make it 3-0, and minutes later Tielemans’ strike deflected off Malen’s heel to add a fourth, with the substitutes combining to seal the win. Despite Bournemouth finishing with a higher xG (2.00 to Villa’s 1.33), they couldn’t find a breakthrough – while Villa were ruthlessly clinical throughout. Unai Emery’s side move up to seventh, level on 18 points with Bournemouth, who drop to ninth. Five teams are now tied on 18 points, with just three points separating second from 10th in a tightly packed table. Next up, Villa travel to Leeds after the international break, while Bournemouth will look to bounce back at home to West Ham after back-to-back defeats. Thanks for following our coverage. Goodbye!
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Villa are hunting a fifth! Malen is slipped through by Barkley – the substitutes have made a real impact here. Malen gets onto it and looks to open his body and curl one into the bottom corner, but it just lacks a bit of bend. Close.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Penalty Save Emiliano Martínez
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
SAVED!!!! MARTINEZ IS THE HERO! Semenyo steps up, with a stuttering run-up, and aims for the bottom left corner – but Martinez reads it brilliantly, gets down extremely low, and pushes it past the post and out for a corner. What a massive moment that could prove to be.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
POST! Evanilson ghosts in at the back post from a corner on the far side, and this time Villa don’t deal with it. His close-range header smashes against the upright – no one seemed to know much about it – before the ball is bundled behind for another corner. Bournemouth are piling on the pressure as they look to pull one back.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Villa run rampant over Bournemouth as they take a 2-0 lead into the break. The match was halted almost immediately following a nasty clash of heads between Bournemouth duo Smith and Adams, which took some of the early energy out of the game. Smith was eventually forced off, but Villa soon reignited the atmosphere with a dominant first-half display. Cash nearly caught Petrovic off his line with an audacious lob inside the opening 10 minutes, before Kamara swivelled and fired a shot from the edge of the box that the keeper had to deal with. Bournemouth had a golden opportunity to strike first when Kamara brought down Scott on the edge of the penalty area, but Tavernier blazed the free-kick well over. Just moments later, Villa were awarded a free-kick of their own – Buendia not only won the free-kick, but then curled a sumptuous effort into the left side of the goal – Petrovic didn’t even move. Later, the VAR briefly checked for a possible Villa penalty, but nothing was given, and soon after Onana thundered home a second from outside the box, drilling it into the bottom-left corner to double the lead. Bournemouth showed more promise in added time but never really threatened Martinez. Emery’s side fully deserve their advantage at the interval.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
FULL-TIME: ASTON VILLA 4-0 BOURNEMOUTH
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Tielemans has a go from a free-kick on the corner of the penalty area, after Malen drew the foul. But the Belgian’s effort is tame and cleared before it reaches the goalmouth.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!! 1-0 VILLA! SENSATIONAL! Buendia stands over the free-kick from right on the D, and his right-footed effort is beautifully placed into the top left corner. Petrovic is left rooted to the spot as the ball nestles into the net, sending the Holte End into a frenzy. Tavernier went for power moments ago; Buendia went for precision – and it’s paid off.
Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth
Matty Cash takes a quick free-kick over the Bournemouth backline, and it’s almost a carbon copy of the chance Bournemouth had just moments ago. Buendia is shoved over as he tries to get on the end of it, with Jimenez the one penalised. He goes into the book.