A late strike from Jack Grealish earns Everton a 1-0 win at Bournemouth, marking their third victory in four Premier League games. The goal, deflected into the net in the 78th minute, was Grealish’s second for Everton and sealed a win that ended Everton’s wait for an away win at the Vitality Stadium dating back to 2016.
Bournemouth, who had picked up only a single point from their previous four matches, fielded their youngest-ever Premier League lineup. Everton manager David Moyes made one alteration from the previous weekend’s 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle, with Carlos Alcaraz coming in for centre-back Michael Keane.
The early 20 minutes produced the most lively moment when Grealish exchanged words with Bournemouth full-back Alex Jimenez near the corner flag, an exchange that stood out in the opening period.
A misdirected 20-yard attempt from Everton’s Tim Iroegbunam over the crossbar reflected the overall lack of quality in the opening spells. The match’s first real saves came from Jordan Pickford, who parried Antoine Semenyo’s toe-poke from close range after a superb through ball from Amine Adli.
That involved a VAR check for a potential handball against Republic of Ireland defender Jake O’Brien, but the review concluded no penalty was given.
Moments before the break, Everton almost struck when Alex Scott diverted James Garner’s corner against his own bar, and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic had to punch away Garner’s subsequent corner to avert trouble on the goal line.
Bournemouth did briefly find the net in first-half stoppage time when Eli Junior Kroupi finished from close range, but he was deemed offside as Adli flicked on Jimenez’s cross.
Early in the second half, Petrovic again kept Everton in it, sprawling to deny Thierno Barry from close range after Alcaraz split the host defense with a precise through ball.
Alcaraz then had another chance blocked by Veljko Milosavljevic following Barry’s clever back-heel pass.
The visitors grew stronger as the game wore on and finally broke through with 12 minutes left. Alcaraz teed up Grealish on the left, and the Manchester City loanee curled a right-foot shot that took a deflection off Bafode Diakite and nestled in the bottom corner.
Shortly after, Iliman Ndiaye almost doubled Everton’s advantage when his powerful strike from outside the box was pushed away by Petrovic, but a single goal proved enough for Moyes’s side.
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