Bournemouth wins seven-goal thriller

Bournemouth became the fifth team in Premier League history to win a match in which they trailed by three goals, after Leeds United in November 1997, Wimbledon in September 1998, Manchester United in September 2001, and Wolves in October 2003 after coming from 3-0 down in the first half to defeat Luton Town 4-3 in their rearranged Premier League fixture on Wednesday.

The result is Bournemouth’s first home league win of 2024, giving Andoni Iraola’s side the lift they desperately needed to better their poor home run. The game was a rescheduled fixture from December when Luton Town skipper Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack and saw the game abandoned at 1-1 before the Premier League ruled that the game be replayed in full.

The first half was all Luton Town’s as the Hatters raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half. Taith Chong’s ninth-minute opener was doubled after half an hour by Chidoze Ogbene before Ross Barkley’s first-half stoppage-time goal almost assured the visitors the win and all three points.

Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke scored one five minutes after the break, but two quick-fire goals from Zabarnyi and Semenyo in the 62nd and 64th minutes locked both teams on 3-3, but Semenyo eventually got the winner with seven minutes left.

Antoine Semenyo reflected on the coach’s reactions and instructions at halftime, and he stated that they were trusted in the team’s style of play as Iraola demanded that they continue the way they played.

“He just said, keep playing the way we are playing, pressing. We will get them; they will make a few mistakes. So we came out early in the second half raring to go, and it speaks for itself. Even when we are down at halftime, we know that man-to-man, our game is about bravery. So in the second half, whether we are down or up, we are going to be pressing the same way. We know that we are going to have chances, and the second half today was amazing.” Semenyo said.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu