Deflected Grealish's strike settles scrappy mid-table duel at Bournemouth
Jack Grealish's heavily deflected late strike gave Everton a 1-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, settling a dour Premier League contest and extending the Cherries' worrying slide. With 12 minutes remaining in a game that had produced more perspiration than inspiration, the on-loan Manchester City winger cut inside from the left and saw his 20-yard effort loop in off Bafodé Diakitè to beat Djordje Petrovic and condemn Bournemouth to a fourth defeat in five league games.
The match between two clubs, described as the Premier League's mid-table blob, stretching from seventh to 15th, rarely rose above an attritional tempo. Bournemouth's only real first-half threat came when captain Antoine Semenyo was denied by Jordan Pickford, and when Eli Junior Kroupi's neat finish was ruled out for offside just before the break, while Everton's best moments arrived from set pieces and a squandered Thierno Barry chance early in the second half.
In the end, fine margins and a slice of fortune separated the sides. Everton, seeking a response to Saturday's 4-1 thrashing by Newcastle, produced the more cohesive second-half display and were rewarded with their first Premier League victory at Bournemouth at the ninth attempt, a third win in four league games and a third clean sheet in that run. For Bournemouth, whose youthful line-up mustered only five attempts all evening, this was a performance that manager Andoni Iraola admitted was their worst of the season and one that leaves them looking over their shoulders rather than up towards Europe.