Bournemouth invited Nottingham Forest inside Vitality Stadium and promptly blew the doors off the place, as Dango Ouattara bagged a second-half hat trick and the Cherries snapped the Tricky Trees’ eight-game unbeaten run.
WATCH – Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest full match replay
Justin Kluivert opened the scoring after just 9 minutes, taking his recent tally to 6 goals in 4 games (all competitions) and 5 in 3 in the Premier League after he himself bagged a hat trick against Newcastle last weekend. 1-0 remained the scoreline through and beyond halftime, but Andoni Iraola’s side emerged for the second half hellbent on putting the game away. Ouattara made it 2-0 in the 55th minute, then 3-0 in the 61st, and finally 4-0 in the 87th. Antoine Semenyo placed the cherry on top with goal no. 5 in stoppage time.
Bournemouth (40 points) are up to 6th in the PL table now, just three points off Chelsea in 4th (for the time being) and four behind Forest, who are still in 3rd but could fall as far as 5th by next weekend with another defeat.
Bournemouth scored first, and it was O-V-E-R
(It did help that they went on to score again, and again, and again, and again, but…)
In this matchup of unlikely European (and Champions League) hopefuls, it was painfully obvious in the minutes immediately following the first goal that Nottingham Forest were going to really struggle to create much of anything that might get them back in the game. When Forest score the first goal, it’s a nightmare for opponents because they defend incredibly well and play at such a low tempo than 10 or 15 minutes can simply go by in a game and nothing really happens. The deciding factor them was always going to be: What can they do when they fall behind? Based on 80 minutes of evidence, not much. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side amassed all of 0.20 xG on 7 shots in the first half and (unsuccessfully) deployed the cross-and-pray method in the second half (0.69 on 11 shots, nearly half of them headers from crosses).
Player ratings - Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest
What’s next?
- Nottingham Forest vs Brighton — Saturday, 7:30 am ET
- Bournemouth vs Liverpool — Saturday, 10 am ET
How to watch Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday
Venue: Vitality Stadium — Bournemouth
TV Channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live online via NBC.com
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest live updates - by Andy Edwards
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest final score: 5-0
Goalscorers: Justin Kluivert (9'), Dango Ouattara (55', 62', 87'), Antoine Semenyo (90'+1)
GOAL! Bournemouth 5-0 Forest: Semenyo adds another in stoppage time (90'+1)
HAT TRICK! Bournemouth 4-0 Forest: Ouattara slots home the rebound for no. 3 (87')
GOAL! Bournemouth 3-0 Forest: Ouattara pokes another home on the counter (62')
GOAL! Bournemouth 2-0 Forest: Ouattara elevates and heads home Kluivert’s cross (55')
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Forest: Kluivert continues his scoring run (9')
That’s 6 goals in 4 appearances (all competitions) for Kluivert, including 5 in 3 in the Premier League.
Bournemouth starting lineup
Arrizabalaga - Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez - Adams, Christie, Kluivert, Brooks, Semenyo, Ouattara
Nottingham Forest starting lineup
Sels - Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams - Yates, Anderson, Gibbs-White - Silva, Elanga, Wood
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest have stunned the league as title competitors through 22 matches, six points off Liverpool and only behind Arsenal on goal differential.
And Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth have steadied themselves as a PL mainstay and sit just three points behind fourth-place Chelsea heading into Week 23. The Cherries ran over Newcastle in Week 22 and have not lost in 10 Premier League games reaching back to late November, a run that includes wins over the Magpies, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United and a draw at Chelsea. Another win here would put Bournemouth into even headier discussions regarding their potential by the end of this Premier League season.
Bournemouth team news, focus
The losses of Evanilson (broken foot) and Enes Unal (ACL) would flatten most teams, especially after those players were ably filling the boots of high-profile summer sale Dominic Solanke. So far, things have been fine. Justin Kluivert is on 10 goals after bagging two hat tricks this season.
OUT: Julio Soler (youth international duty), Evanilson (foot), Enes Unal (knee), Alex Scott (knee), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring), Julian Araujo (thigh), Marcos Senesi (thigh), Marcus Tavernier (hamstring), Adam Smith (knock), James Hill (thigh)
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
Nuno Espirito Santo’s plan means the forwards have to provide defensive cover and then counter attack with electricity. Callum Hudson-Odoi is questionable for this one, so Nuno could have fewer legs and will have to lean even more on Anthony Elanga, Jota Silva, and Morgan Gibbs-White.
OUT: Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Callum Hudson-Odoi (muscular)
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest prediction
Bournemouth have the understanding to breakdown Forest’s steady defensive structure, and to deal with their counter attacking plans as well, but the Tricky Trees are also a handful for how the Cherries like to play the game and there’s no clear direction for making a prediction. It’s easy to argue that these two seasons are the most impressive in this Premier League campaign, and we’re going to predict that the unstoppable force triumphs over the immovable object. This could be a big day for Antoine Semenyo. Bournemouth 2-1 Nottingham Forest.
