Bournemouth

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

In 1870, Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic changed their shirts to red and black stripes as a homage to AC Milan.

In 1972, the club changed its name to AFC Bournemouth as they continued to push towards a more continental look.

On 22 October 2026, the apprentice defeated the master, in spectacular style.

Bournemouth's supporters may soon be running our of adjectives to describe how thrilling their debut European campaign has been, and how barely believable it feels.

Andy Williams' rendition of The Impossible Dream has been played in the build-up to both of their home Europa League fixtures, but Can't Take My Eyes Off You might have been a more appropriate soundtrack on Thursday as AC Milan were put to the sword on the south coast in an eye-catching Cherries display.

Even before the Serie A side were reduced to 10 men, it was Marco Rose's men who were fully in charge of proceedings, with supporters pinching themselves that this was the case.

Rose had been criticised early in his Bournemouth tenure for being too inflexible with his team selection and substitutions, but seems to have hit the right balance in this run of three home games in eight days.

There was a surprise start for on-loan goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio, but the Milan-born stopper, who began his career at city rivals Inter, had kept four clean sheets against AC in the past two seasons in Serie A, and was barely troubled as the visitors failed to muster a shot on target.

Further forward, neither Bafode Diakite nor Ben Gannon-Doak have been in Rose's 'first XI' in the early weeks, but both played important roles against Milan - while Rose, perhaps with one eye on the weekend, also freshened things up with a triple substitution just after the hour mark.

The night's only blemish was a hamstring injury suffered by Alex Toth, one of those three subs - but he gave way to Amine Adli, who put the gloss on a famous occasion as he curled home a free-kick for Bournemouth's third.

When that went in, the home fans taunted Milan's manager by singing "Ruben Amorim, it's happened again", in reference to their successful results during his tenure at Manchester United.

After three successive goal-fests at Old Trafford - two 3-0 routs and last season's spectacular 4-4 draw - a resurgent Bournemouth are probably one of the last teams that under-pressure United boss Michael Carrick may have wanted to face when the sides meet there on Sunday.

But for his Cherries counterpart, to raid the Andy Williams back catalogue again, these are truly Days Of Wine And Roses.

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BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark and former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington discuss the coming-of-age European victory over AC Milan on the latest episode of Cherries Unpicked.

"We just made light work of AC Milan," Partington laughed. "Pre-match, most people would have been happy with a draw as we were expecting a much tougher test than it was in the end.

"From the first moment to the very last, Bournemouth were brilliant and it was a complete performance.

"AC Milan were a bit shell-shocked. Their players didn't seem to react particularly well to the weather either, in particular their goalkeeper.

"It ended up being pretty anti-climactic with Bournemouth clear winners in the end."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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We asked for your views on Thursday's victory over AC Milan in the Europa League.

Here are some of your comments:

Tom: One word is all I can say: WOW. We dominated AC Milan. Can't believe we are truly living in this. Pinch me, please. I think I need to wake up before it becomes too good.

Simon: Just amazing! Can't have imagined this about eight years ago. What a time to be a Bournemouth fan and what a goal from Adli. The Milan goalkeeper getting sent off was hilarious. Let's take this momentum onto the Manchester United game.

Al: I could cry. Bournemouth were a team I watched in the mid-70s when they were a Fourth Division outfit facing the end and I've watched a team from England's least footballing county rise to beat a truly legendary team

Noel: Totally dominant performance by Bournemouth from minute one to minute 90. I was actually very disappointed with Milan's performance. Whether it was Bournemouth's dominant style or their inability to handle the wind and rain is up for debate, but I suspect the former.

John: I've supported AFCB for 59 years through thick and thin and this was one of the most memorable nights at Dean Court. Our dominance over European royalty was there for all to see.

Peter: Doff your hats to Bournemouth, the little club on England's south coast. You now see what's possible - from escaping the jaws of survival to a now healthy, prosperous football club. Keep pressing high and looking forward - it won't be long before AFC Bournemouth enter the record books as a recognisably GREAT English football club.

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford (14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rose confirmed last season's top scorer Junior Kroupi is set to be involved for the first time this campaign, after recovering from a foot injury sustained during a pre-season training session in Austria in late July: "The plan is to take him with us to Manchester and give him some minutes."

• On the 20-year-old's impact in training, Rose added: "He's a funny guy. I really love him. He has a good attitude. He's a special player. We have to take care of him and he has to take care of his next steps. But when we train, he changes every rondo you play. He changes every 5-v-5-plus-one session when he is the floater. It's just a different game then."

• On what impact United's recent struggles could have on the game: "It should not affect us and our work. I hear the voices and the noise around the club, but I don't know if it helps us because everyone in Manchester seems to know now what to do and how to do it. It's up to us to go there, be focused, bring our football on to the pitch and react well to situations."

• More on the Red Devils, who lost 4-1 to Como in the Champions League this week: "I think they're going to be angry, they're going to be intense. We have to face it, make an open game of it and, at the end, we want to win it. You always get to a point where you have nothing to lose any more, sometimes as a manager, as a club, as players. That's why it's always difficult."

• Asked about his team selection after Thursday's 3-0 Europa League win over AC Milan, the Cherries boss responded: "It will not be so difficult because I can play with only 11 players - one goalkeeper and 10 others, and I'm going to pick 11. I'm quite happy that I see everyone wants to show that he belongs to this team, and this is the only thing I demand."

• On possible rotation: "If you do it and maybe you don't play on Sunday, then you play on Wednesday against Aston Villa [in the Carabao Cup]. We have so many games and enough time to give everyone the opportunity to play."

Listen to full live commentary of Man Utd v Bournemouth on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 14:00 GMT on Sunday

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose speaking to Uefa: "I feel really good. I'm proud of the club, happy for the fans and proud of the lads. It was a great evening, a great result and a brilliant performance in every aspect. We were really sharp in everything, played our game and, it's a deserved win.

"The way we got into the game, the effort, the attitude, the way we won balls and put pressure on Milan was great. We created chances, scored an early goal and kept the pressure high. This was Bournemouth, and this is what we wanted to show."

Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie speaking to TNT Sports: "What a night. The boys spoke about it before the game, listen it's a special night for the club but it becomes a lot more special if you go and win the game. Amazing, it's been such an experience playing in Europe, the fans have been amazing, the whole infrastructure the club have brought, in terms of the whole atmosphere coming into tonight and last week as well. It's incredible. It's a run of good results now, we need to keep going."

On what it means to the fans: "It's mega. In terms of the story of the club it's ridiculous. Someone told me today, 15 years ago today we were 17th in League One I think so it's pretty incredible. So many of these fans have been here for this journey so to have nights like this and win as well is special."

On momentum: "Now that we've got that bit of momentum. I think it's crucial when you've got so many games one after the other you just try and roll into the next one and keep the positivity. With the amount of games we've got, the gaffer has to use everyone in the squad and to be fair everyone has shown they can be called upon, the boys that came in tonight. Incredible tonight to come in and perform like that against a top team. Positivity going into the weekend."

• Listen to more from Rose above or on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Bournemouth have become the first English side to win each of their first three games in major European competition since Sunderland back in October 1973.

• The Cherries netted twice from the penalty spot in the first half of a game (any competition) for the first time since November 2024 v Wolves in the Premier League.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies.

There are 18 games in both the Europa League and the Conference League on Thursday - with Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland involved in the former, and Brighton the latter - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Jablonev v Brighton (17:45)

• Lech Poznan v Sunderland (17:45)

• Besiktas v Crystal Palace

• Bournemouth v AC Milan

Kick-off times 20:00 BST unless stated. See the fixture list in full here

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Owner Bill Foley believes Bournemouth is the "right place" for midfielder Alex Scott to be and says the Cherries have not given up hope of the midfielder signing a new contract.

The 23-year-old England international has a £100m asking price after a £64m offer from Chelsea was rejected in the summer.

Speaking to Talksport, Foley said: "At this point, we're convinced we're the right place for Alex to be and to stay, and we'll keep on addressing the contract issues with Alex as we move through this year.

"We'd love to have Alex stay here and sign a new contract and be part of this team for the long haul.

"We haven't given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes and they think that Chelsea or Manchester City is the right place to go."

Scott, who is sidelined with a thigh injury suffered on England duty, is contracted to Bournemouth until June 2028.

"It's not long ago we were playing Oldham Athletic and Hartlepool United in League One. Now I'm about to watch us play AC Milan. It's absolute madness," says Bournemouth fan Kirk Tovey.

"I'm pinching myself."

Fifteen years to the day since Bournemouth lost 2-1 at home to Bury in the third tier of English football, the Cherries host seven-time champions of Europe AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday (20:00 BST).

It is a game between the club that refused to die against the 11-time European Cup finalists on what promises to be a momentous night in Bournemouth's 127-year history.

While Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium is comfortably the smallest in the Premier League in terms of capacity, work is under way to expand it and last week's attendance figure of 12,070 for the 3-0 Europa League win over Sturm Graz was easily their highest of the 21st century.

Another 12,000-plus will pack in for the visit of an AC Milan team managed by former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, with many fans resigned to watching the match on television after missing out on a ticket.

The visitors are fourth in Serie A on 15 points from seven games, four points behind leaders and arch-rivals Inter Milan.

It is 19 years since they were last crowned champions of Europe and four years since they won the last of their 19 Serie A titles.

"They are not the team they used to be," says Tovey from the Cherries Red Army fan channel.

"This is not the AC Milan of Kaka, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Filippo Inzaghi or Clarence Seedorf. But they are still seven-time champions of Europe and they are a massive football club.

"When the draw came out and you looked at the eight teams we were drawn against, AC Milan was the one everyone went 'wow'."

Hear how the Cherries drew inspiration from AC Milan's red and black kit from club historian Neil Vacher below, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Kluivert says it was an "amazing feeling" to reach the Europa League final in 2016-17 but now he would "really like to achieve" something similar with Bournemouth.

The 27-year-old netted the Cherries' first-ever goal in European competition in a historic 2-1 win over Real Sociedad last month.

Speaking in a pre-match news conference, before Bournemouth take on AC Milan on Thursday night, Kluivert said: "I remember being in the Europa League final just six months into my time in Ajax's first team.

"We lost to Manchester United, but it was an amazing feeling. Now that I'm older and I haven't been in any more finals, I know how special that moment was.

"It was a beautiful achievement and something I would really like to achieve - and I believe we can achieve - at Bournemouth this season."

When asked if he ever envisaged playing in Europe when he signed for Bournemouth in June 2023, Kluivert replied: "This club has done a good job of attracting players that have already played in European competition before, so it is clear the owner has always been ambitious.

"It is a big credit to him for finding and recruiting these types of players. We have reached the Europa League now so it is time to show our ability at this level, as we have done before.

"AC Milan on Thursday and Manchester United on Sunday is what you dream of as a little boy. You don't need motivation for these kinds of games."

He also provided a special message to Cherries fans before what will be "a special occasion" at the Vitality Stadium: "It is going to be a battle of the red and black stripes.

"I want to hear them cheering a lot, as they've done in our previous games. Please don't stop singing, chanting and enjoying the night with us, even if it is raining.

"Let's try to enjoy it all together. It is going to be a special night that every single person will enjoy and we will try to be victorious for you."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against AC Milan at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There are no new injury concerns following the 2-0 win over Sunderland, with Adrien Truffert set to be available despite suffering from cramp due to "a lack of playing rhythm" on Sunday.

• Eli Junior Kroupi, who has been recovering from a foot injury picked up in pre-season, is back in first-team training. He isn't on the club's Uefa squad list, but he might be able to "play some minutes" against Manchester United in the Premier League.

• Veljko Milosavljevic has almost completed his return from a long-term quad injury, with the centre-back currently building up match fitness with the under-21s.

• When asked how far Alex Scott is from first-team training, Rose said: "We needed to see how he would respond to the load. The response wasn't perfect on the first day, but it has been much better following that. We will now look to step up his training plan, but he won't be available for the next two weeks."

• The reason for squad rotation is "sometimes about caring for a player and sometimes about the opponent's qualities", but "freshness on the pitch, avoiding injuries and winning games" are the main aims.

• On whether this is the biggest game in Bournemouth's 126-year history: "It is a huge game and we are looking forward to it, but the club has played a much bigger game before. Many years ago, after the points deduction, they needed to win their last game at home [against Grimsby] and Steve Fletcher scored the winning goal. That's the foundation of why we are here now, playing these kinds of games."

• It will be important to "not make the game bigger than what it is" because they are back in Premier League action again on Sunday and they already have six points on the board in Europe.

• He added: "If we're able to clarify our situation in this competition, it will make things easier going forward. We have many games before the international break so, for that reason, we should grab everything that we can. We will be going full in on Thursday."

• On going into the fixture off the back of two impressive wins, having scored five goals and kept two clean sheets: "We feel we're in a good spot. We have created a good momentum for ourselves now and we should use that to our advantage."

• After reaching the Europa League semi-finals in his first-ever campaign at Salzburg in 2017-18, Rose believes his Bournemouth side can "compete with everyone in the competition" this season.

• Ruben Amorim, who has not lost a single Serie A match since taking over in June, is "a top coach" who has developed something "completely different" at AC Milan compared to Manchester United.

• For that reason, the Cherries boss anticipates a "tough game" against a side with "a clear but flexible style, individual quality, plus good pressing and counter-pressing ability".

Manchester United are plotting a major defensive overhaul next summer, with 24-year-old Bournemouth and France defender Adrien Truffert a target. (i news), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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In Victorian times, doctors would often prescribe a short visit to Bournemouth as a "rest cure", with the sea air thought to help patients convalesce.

For Marco Rose's Cherries side, enjoying the comforts of home have been paramount this week, with the first two of a run of three home games in eight days bringing back-to-back victories - and back-to-back clean sheets - against Sturm Graz and Sunderland.

I wrote on these pages a week ago that two home wins would bring the feelgood factor back - and though they were contrasting occasions, Rose and his staff will hope the week represents a turning point in their fortunes.

The first home European tie of Bournemouth's 127-year history was always going to be an emotional occasion, even for the 1,900 hardy souls who had also witnessed September's winning debut game at Real Sociedad.

On paper, Sturm Graz were weaker opposition than Sociedad, which the 3-0 scoreline ultimately reflected as the Austrians were dispatched in style in front of Bournemouth's highest home attendance since 1989.

But Sunday's 2-0 success against fellow EuropaLeague qualifiers Sunderland means Rose finally has a Premier League win under his belt, and a significant monkey off his back.

Although the Black Cats were fortunate to only concede twice, with Bournemouth registering 29 shots and an expected goals (xG) figure of 4.32, it feels churlish to be critical after such a landmark victory.

The Cherries can now enjoy Thursday's visit of Italian giants AC Milan, undoubtedly the marquee fixture of their Europa League group-stage schedule, without undue pressure, and can take confidence to out-of-sorts Manchester United on Sunday, at a ground where they have enjoyed some fine results in recent seasons.

And they can approach both games with smiles on their faces - so, just what the doctor ordered?

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Liverpool and Manchester United are among several Premier League clubs interested in Borussia Dortmund's Germany midfielder Felix Nmecha, with Liverpool viewing the £84m-rated 26-year-old as an alternative to Bournemouth's England international Alex Scott, 23. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington has praised Evanilson's "exceptional" performances against Sturm Graz in the Europa League and Sunderland in the Premier League, with the striker netting in back-to-back games.

The 27-year-old has scored three goals and contributed four assists across nine appearances this season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent's Cherries Unpicked podcast about Evanilson's goal and assist, which helped Marco Rose's side secure their first Premier League win of the season, Partington said: "He is always pretty good, but I would say he was exceptional.

"He is one of those players that never really gets total credit unless he scores because he is a striker, so it was nice to see him get an assist and then put his goal away.

"His overall play was brilliant, especially when he contributed to Kevin Danso being sent off early in the game by chasing somewhat of a lost cause.

"I don't think we gave enough credit to the header he scored against Sturm Graz midweek because that was exceptional as well. It feels like he is in a real nice rhythm at the moment.

"Regardless of where he plays, I feel he is pretty central to Marco Rose's plans this season - and so he should be because he was by far and away the best player on the pitch against Sunderland."

On Evanilson's neat 48th-minute finish, Partington added: "It was smooth. I think people call it 'flow state' when you find yourself in a rhythm where you're just totally in control of what you're doing.

"He looked balanced, his first touch was where he wanted it to be - he needed to get on the other side of the defenders and he managed to use his body to do that. It just all came together at the right time for him.

"The only question mark I've got around him being a number nine is whether he has that selfishness to score goals. There is no way Brett Pitman would have squared that ball to Marcus Tavernier in the fifth minute.

"Evanilson doesn't quite have that cutting edge. I would say it's maybe the reason why he doesn't have as many goals to his name, but he is still a brilliant player."

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