Burnley 0-2 Bournemouth. Burnley’s slim hopes of staying up suffered another setback as Bournemouth won in the Premier League for the first time in 2024.
Justin Kluivert set the Cherries on their way with a powerful finish past James Trafford after poor defending.
Burnley responded strongly with Neto producing an outstanding save to keep out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s free-kick while Vitinho headed a good chance over the bar.
Larsen also had a goalbound shot blocked by Adam Smith after Neto denied David Datro Fofana.
Josh Cullen’s disallowed goal – ruled out for a foul in the build-up – only added to the sense of frustration inside Turf Moor, before Antoine Semenyo wrapped up the points with a deflected finish in the 88th minute.
Burnley are 11 points from safety with 11 games left.
Bournemouth’s fifth away win of the season lifted them one place to 13th before four successive home games.
Despite trailing, the Clarets were applauded off the pitch at the interval by their fans after an encouraging first half.
By full-time, a familiar air of resignation had descended over Turf Moor.
This was their 20th defeat in what has been an utterly miserable season and they find themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation despite having 33 points still to play for.
Vincent Kompany’s team arrived back in the Premier League with high hopes after winning promotion with seven matches to spare, but they are running out of games to save themselves.
On another bitterly frustrating afternoon, they peppered the Bournemouth goal with 12 attempts in the first half alone but paid the cost for poor defending which has blighted their season.
Even when they did find the net, Cullen’s effort was ruled out, much to the frustration of the home fans, after Larsen was deemed to have fouled in the build-up.
It was one of a number of decisions that Kompany felt went against his team, and he addressed officiating after the game.
“There is a real lack of consistency we need to look at,” Kompany said.
“I’d like to keep my focus on my team and the game, I don’t necessarily want to have a go at the referees. The key thing we are asking for is the consistency that is lacking at the moment.”
With regard to his side’s position in the relegation zone, the Burnley boss added: “We need to fight for everything we can get.”
Bournemouth have had much better performances than this during the season, but a first Premier League win since 26 December provides them with a much-needed lift before a run of winnable games.
Andoni Iraola’s side face several teams in the relegation battle, with a string of home matches against Sheffield United, Luton, Everton and Crystal Palace.
“We’ve been playing well lately but not getting the wins,” said the Bournemouth boss. “Maybe we needed a game like this where we were not playing well but got the win.
“We still need points, it is important for us to score and win games and we still need more points.”
Having failed to score in their previous two outings, Kluivert gave Iraola’s side the perfect start with a thumping finish.
Bournemouth had chances to extend their lead, with Dominic Solanke denied by Trafford and Marcus Tavernier firing into the side-netting, before Semenyo’s finish sealed a fifth win on the road to add to victories at Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
The Ghana forward cut in from out wide before beating Trafford from just inside the penalty area with a shot that took a heavy touch off a defender.
Only at that point could Bournemouth be confident it would be their day.
“Relief, yes. We have been in this position and then we lost some very valuable points at the end,” said Iraola.
“We didn’t play so well, but we won it. Sometimes you have to know how to win these kind of games.”
source – bbc
