Bournemouth Fights Back to Secure Point in Eventful Draw Against Everton
Bournemouth came back from two goals behind to rescue a draw against Everton, in what turned out to be an incredibly eventful match.
The first half was not the most memorable, with both teams finding chances hard to come by. Callum Wilson missed a fantastic opportunity, before Everton new boy Richarlison was shown a straight red card after he was judged to have headbutted Bournemouth's Adam Smith.
Theo Walcott gave Everton the lead shortly after the interval before Smith was himself shown a red card for preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity as Walcott raced in behind the defence. Michael Keane doubled Everton's lead, before a frantic last 15 minutes saw Joshua King and Nathan Ake level the score.
The game ended on a sour note, with Keane suffering a terrifying head injury following a clash with teammate Idrissa Gueye. The defender lay motionless as he received treatment for over five minutes, before he was stretchered off the field.
BOURNEMOUTH
Key Talking Point
Everton fans were very vocal in their frustrations toward Smith following the full back's clash with Richarlison, which saw the Brazilian sent off. Fans believed Smith overreacted in order to convince the referee to dismiss Richarlison, but the universe has a funny way of working things out.
With Everton already leading, Smith dragged down Walcott and was deemed to have denied the Englishman a clear goalscoring opportunity. Smith was shown the red card, and Bournemouth conceded a second goal shortly after. Fortunately for Smith, his side managed to rescue a point.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Begovic (5); Smith (3), Cook (6), Ake (7), Daniels (5); Brooks (6), Surman (6), Gosling (6), Fraser (8); Wilson (6), King (6).
Substitutes: Ibe (6), Cook (5).
STAR MAN - The majority of Bournemouth players struggled to make an impact on the match, but Ryan Fraser looked a level ahead of his teammates today. He was constantly looking for pockets of space between Everton's midfield and defense and deserved more from the game.
He produced several excellent passes and regularly looked like his side's only real chance of clawing its way back into the game. His dead-ball delivery was superb, and really should have registered at least one assist, with Wilson and Ake both missing excellent chances.
WORST PLAYER - Bournemouth were very disappointing during the first half, and deserved to be two goals behind. Callum Wilson and Charlie Daniels were both guilty of underperforming, but Asmir Begovic will be especially keen to forget his performance today.
The Bosnian shot-stopper will be disappointed to have been beaten at his near post for Everton's first goal, whilst Keane's header found it's way between Begovic's legs to give Everton a two-goal advantage. Bournemouth did very well to get themselves back into the game, and could have claimed all three points on another day.
EVERTON
Key Talking Point
Richarlison came into the match in fantastic form, netting three goals in his first two games for the club. However, after such a heavenly start to his Everton career, the Brazilian certainly came crashing back down to earth against Bournemouth.
He was barely involved during his time on the field, with only one notable chance to run at Bournemouth's defense. His disappointing performance was summed up toward the end of the first half, when he pushed his head toward Smith and gave the referee no choice but to brandish a red card.
Admittedly it was a soft decision from the referee, but Richarlison should have known better than to ask the question of the official.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Pickford (7); Coleman (7), Holgate (5), Keane (7), Baines (6); Davies (7), Gueye (7); Walcott (7), Sigurdsson (8), Richarlison (3); Tosun (6).
Substitutes: Calvert-Lewin (5), Bernard (5), Zouma (N/A)
STAR MAN - Gylfi Sigurdsson continued his impressive start to the season, looking incredibly dangerous during the first half. He delivered several fantastic crosses, and appeared to be able to find space anywhere on the pitch.
Richarlison's dismissal meant Sigurdsson was moved out to the left side of the midfield, and the Icelandic struggled to maintain his influence on the game. However, when he managed to find space, he proved to be a dangerous option and was heavily involved in both of his side's goals.
WORST PLAYER - Naming Richarlison as his side's worst performer seems too easy. The Brazilian endured arguably his worst performance since his arrival to the Premier League, but was not the only member of his team to underperform.
Mason Holgate was guilty of misplacing a few passes, and also occasionally found himself in the wrong position, including preventing Jordan Pickford from making a very routine save. After the terrifying injury to Keane, Holgate will be required to step up in the coming weeks.
Looking Ahead
Bournemouth welcome MK Dons to the Vitality Stadium next week in the Carabao Cup, before making the trip to London to face Chelsea, in a game which will certainly provide a huge test to their unbeaten start.
Everton will have to cope without Richarlison as they face a cup clash with Rotherham, before returning to league football when Huddersfield visit Goodison Park next Saturday. They will most likely also be without Keane, meaning Kurt Zouma and maybe even Yerry Mina could be called upon sooner rather than later.