Bournemouth Punish Maignan Red Card to Rout AC Milan 3-0 in Europa League

The match was effectively over in the 28th minute, decided not by a tactical masterstroke but by a catastrophic loss of composure. AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan shoved Tyler Adams in the face inside the six-yard box, earning a straight red card and handing Bournemouth their second penalty of the night.[4][6]

That single moment of indiscipline reduced the seven-time European champions to ten men and turned a competitive fixture into a procession. Marcus Tavernier confidently stroked the resulting spot-kick into the corner, doubling a lead that Justin Kluivert had established just 20 minutes earlier.[1][3][4][5]

From that point forward, Marco Rose’s side simply suffocated the visitors in the torrential rain at the Vitality Stadium. The 3-0 victory on Thursday night keeps Bournemouth perfect in their maiden major European campaign.[3][4]

The Cherries had already unsettled Ruben Amorim’s structured back three long before the red card. Operating in a fluid 4-4-2 that bypassed Milan’s initial press, Bournemouth targeted the half-spaces and forced the Italian side’s wing-backs into uncomfortably narrow positions.[2]

Michele Di Gregorio’s rapid distribution repeatedly launched full-backs Adrien Truffert and James Hill into acres of space. That early pressure yielded the opening breakthrough in the eighth minute when a header from Evanilson struck the raised hand of Milan defender Koni De Winter.[1][2][4]

Greek referee Vassilis Fotias pointed to the spot after a VAR review, and Kluivert converted the penalty straight down the middle. The strike emulated his father Patrick’s famous goal against the same club in the 1995 Champions League final.[4][5][6]

Milan attempted to maintain their high defensive line even after Maignan’s dismissal, a decision that left them hopelessly exposed to direct balls over the top. Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlović struggled to cover the vast spaces behind them without their sweeper-keeper.[2]

The visitors ultimately failed to register a single meaningful threat on Di Gregorio’s goal during the second half. Substitute Amine Adli then provided the definitive exclamation mark in the 84th minute.[3][4][5]

The winger curled a magnificent 25-yard free-kick past replacement goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani, sealing a result that matches a 53-year-old English football record. With nine points from nine and a plus-five goal difference, Bournemouth become the first English club since Sunderland in 1973 to win the first three matches of a debut European campaign.[3][4][5]

"It's mega," Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie told TNT Sports following the final whistle. "To come out under the lights against a team with that kind of history and control the game the way we did, it shows exactly where this group is at right now."[6]

For Amorim and Milan, the defeat stalls the momentum they had built following a 4-0 thrashing of RB Salzburg earlier this month. The Rossoneri sit on just three points in the league phase standings and must now regroup ahead of a critical stretch in Serie A.[1]

Bournemouth, meanwhile, sit firmly inside the automatic qualification spots for the knockout phase. They prepare to take their flawless continental record to Sparta Prague on November 5.[3][4]