- Brooks opened the scoring after 5'
- Van Aanholt stole one back in 55'
- Stanislas won it from the spot in 87'
- Cherries rise to 7th; Eagles stuck in 13th
Bournemouth raced out to an early lead, watched it slowly but surely slipped away, then roared back to life during the game’s final 10 minutes to top Crystal Palace, 2-1, at the Vitality Stadium on Monday.
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The Cherries sent the south-coast faithful into raptures and took their lead after just five minutes, courtesy of David Brooks’ first Premier League goal.
It started with quick build-up down the left side before Callum Wilson found himself on the ball near the top of the box. Laying it off for Brooks, to his right, was the easiest and most obvious play. The 21-year-old swung his left foot through the ball and banged it off the underside of the crossbar to make it 1-0.
What a start for Bournemouth! A great goal in the first 5 minutes! pic.twitter.com/H9g0FZE5Z1
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 1, 2018
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Bournemouth’s lead help up for 50 minutes — though it should have been longer than that. Patrick van Aanholt brought Palace level in the 55th minute with an unstoppable strike into the ceiling of Asmir Begovic’s net, but the Dutchman was more than a yard offside when Wilfried Zaha played the through ball. The assistant referee kept his flag down by his side, and the Eagles had a goal to show for all of their possession and pressure.
PVA 😮 What. A. Goal. pic.twitter.com/EtVhXNe5se
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 1, 2018
Bournemouth offered very little over the next half-hour and it was generally Palace who pushed hardest for a winner.
Palace’s rapid unraveling began in the 83rd minute, though, when Wilson went agonizingly close with a one-on-one chance, but Wayne Hennessey made a fine kick-save to deny him at the end of a breathless counter-attack. Hennessey was called into action barely 60 seconds later, as Wilson raced down the left side and served in a cross to Dan Gosling near the penalty spot. Gosling’s header was goal-bound, but Hennessey wouldn’t be beaten at full-stretch.
Seconds later, Bournemouth won a free kick nearly 40 yards from goal. Referee Mike Dean spotted Mamadou Sakho’s forearm making contact with the head of Jefferson Lerma. Junior Stanislas, who had only entered the game as a substitute three minutes earlier, stepped up to the penalty spot and sent the ball down the middle as Hennessey dove to his left.
The result sees Bournemouth (13 points) reach seventh in the PL table, while Palace (7 points) remain stuck in 13th.