Dominic Solanke completed a last-gasp hat-trick to earn Bournemouth a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest and ruin Nuno Espirito Santo’s first game in charge at the City Ground.
Forest had looked like overcoming the controversial first-half red card of Willy Boly to earn a worthy point after Chris Wood had headed them level in the 74th minute.
But Solanke, who had earlier scored twice in seven minutes to overturn Anthony Elanga’s opener for Forest, broke their hearts when he headed home in the fifth minute of time added on.
Forest will have grave complaints about the 23rd-minute dismissal of Boly, who was sent off for two yellow cards, with referee Rob Jones brandishing the second despite the defender clearly winning the ball.
Nuno, who replaced the sacked Steve Cooper earlier in the week, will be enthused by what he saw from his side, but he has inherited a relegation battle and Forest could be in the bottom three if results do not go in their favour in the Boxing Day fixtures.
Life is much better for the Cherries, who won for the fifth time in six matches to climb into mid-table and Solanke took the matchball home for the first time in his career.
Nuno received warm applause before kick-off and, after Boly’s early first booking for a foul on Solanke, his side made a strong start.
Wood should have done better when he waltzed past Marcos Senesi in the area but shot straight at Cherries goalkeeper Neto before Elanga had a low effort well saved.
The match-defining moment came in the 23rd minute when Boly was awarded a second yellow card for a challenge on Adam Smith, despite clearly winning the ball.
VAR cannot check yellow card incidents so the Ivorian had no reprieve and had to walk.
Forest acquitted themselves well with 10 men and thought they should have been awarded a penalty on the half-hour mark.
Harry Toffolo’s cross hit Smith’s hand but VAR ruled, while his feet were in the penalty area, contact was outside.
Perhaps fuelled by a sense of injustice they made a dream start to the second half and went ahead less than two minutes after the restart.
Wood dispossessed Alex Scott in a dangerous area and played in Elanga, who provided a sublime finish into the bottom corner.
But the joy was short-lived as the Cherries levelled four minutes later as Solanke sent a looping header from Senesi’s cross over Matt Turner.
Solanke needed just another seven minutes to grab his second as he slid home a loose ball to put the visitors in control.
But Forest showed real character and Wood headed them level when his effort from Morgan Gibbs-White’s corner went in after taking a nick from Luis Sinisterra.
Bournemouth did threaten a third goal when David Brooks hit the post, but Solanke claimed his hat-trick and the three points when he headed home Smith’s cross at the death.
San Jose Earthquakes v Austin FC: Gonzalez hopeful ‘Quakes can start grinding out wins
Luchi Gonzalez admits his team need to learn the difference between competing and winning as they aim to bounce back against Austin FC on Saturday.
The Earthquakes currently sit bottom of the Western Conference with 10 points, having won just three games this season.
Gonzalez highlighted his team has no trouble competing with their opponents and is optimistic they can turn leads into actual wins soon.
"The result of the last game [against Austin], we didn't get the job done there at the end even though we thought we were about to, but we're competing consistently in any competition," he said.
"We've had the lead in eight out of [14 MLS games]. That does show you that we're ready, we're prepared and we compete. Competing and winning are two different things. We've got to keep working on our ability to make decisions individually, collectively."
At the other end of the table, Austin sit in third with 22 points, just six behind leaders Real Salt Lake after back-to-back wins over Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City.
Head coach Josh Wolff was pleased with his side’s approach in recent weeks but urged them to keep up that level as they head into a busy week.
"We're very spirited, we're very organised and opportunistic," Wolff said.
"We've shown we can score goals, that's not a problem. We have to keep approaching games in a meticulous way, a responsible and disciplined way so that we can win."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Jeremy Ebobisse
Ebobisse has scored five goals in seven career matches against Austin FC. Only Jesus Ferreira (6) has scored more MLS goals against the Verde.
Austin – Sebastian Driussi
Driussi has scored seven goals in seven career games against the Earthquakes. No player has scored more goals against a single opponent than Driussi against San Jose since he joined MLS in 2021.
MATCH PREDICTION: SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES WIN
Austin recorded their first-ever win over San Jose on April 6 with a 4-3 home victory (D5 L2). There have been at least four goals scored in five of the eight matches between the sides, including a pair of seven-goal games.
San Jose has lost four of their first six home league matches this season (W2) after losing just twice at PayPal Park during the 2023 regular season. The ‘Quakes have conceded at least once in 11 straight regular-season home matches dating back to last year.
Meanwhile, Austin have won six of its last nine regular-season matches (D1 L2), including the last two in a row. Only three teams have collected more points than Austin’s 19 since that run began in late March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes – 41.2%
Draw – 28.6%
Austin – 30.2%
Onana decided to 'stand up and fight' after Man Utd criticism
Andre Onana says he decided to "stand up and fight" after a tough start to life at Manchester United.
The Red Devils are preparing to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final for a second consecutive season on Saturday after a poor campaign saw them finish in their lowest-ever league position in the Premier League.
Certain players were singled out throughout the season due to their performances, with Onana coming under fire for a string of errors early on after taking over from David de Gea when he joined from Inter last July.
However, the goalkeeper was adamant he did not let the criticism get to him.
"I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and 'boom' it went down. It was like 'What happened?'," he said.
"But that is how difficult football is sometimes. It depends if you want to stay down there or stand up and fight. I know what I did to arrive here. I know who I am. I decided to stand up and fight."
Onana compared his experience to that of team-mate Marcus Rashford, who was left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024 after scoring just eight goals this season.
"We are talking about the same player [Rashford]. So now he's a bad player? No. You can have a bad season or a bad start, but the most important thing is how you end," he added.
"Rashy, for me, is one of the best players in the world. But he is facing difficulty. It's not only him and me, but the whole club.
"But he will come back. I know my killer will score some important goals for us. Hopefully, against City, he will score two, and we win the FA Cup."
There is also a lot of speculation around the club concerning the future of Erik ten Hag, with reports suggesting he could be relieved of his position no matter the result in Saturday’s final.
Onana, however, has thrown his support behind his manager, who he also worked with at Ajax for five years.
The Cameroon international said: "I'm not here to back him because he's big enough to back himself, but he's a really good guy, a positive coach and, tactically, he is good.
"If he had all his squad together, it would probably be different for him, for us, the club and the fans."
'In our job, you have to win' – Guardiola on Xavi's Barcelona sacking
Pep Guardiola said "in our job, you have to win" when he was asked about Xavi's dismissal by Barcelona.
Barca confirmed on Friday that Xavi had been dismissed, and would not take charge of the club next season.
Xavi's final game in charge of the Blaugrana is set to come on Sunday, when Barca face Sevilla.
Barca's decision comes just 30 days after Xavi announced he had decided to stay on, having initially expressed his intention to leave back in January.
Xavi was a key player for Guardiola during his successful stint as Barcelona coach, and the Manchester City boss was asked about his old club's decision.
"What can I say? It's always not good news because something didn't work, one club sacking the manager. [The] reasons [for] what happened, I don't know," Guardiola said ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
"We spoke today at breakfast [about manager sackings]. Normally [managers] move a lot.
"In our job, you have to win otherwise you're in a dangerous position. No matter [if you're] new or old, you have to win, do a good job and be good with many things, otherwise it happens."
Sevilla coach Quique Sanchez Flores, who will leave his post after Sunday's meeting with Barca, was rather more scathing of the Blaugrana, however.
"I shouldn't say this, but how badly Barcelona treats its legends. What a bad streak," Flores said.
"With [Ronald] Koeman, with [Lionel] Messi, with Xavi now, how bad. I wish clubs treated their legends well. That would be fantastic.
"That is a legacy of connection from the managers to the fans. This connects a lot, treating legends well.
"Xavi is a legend of the club. He won the league last season and football has a short memory. He was questioned this year from the first minute. I have doubts that the criticism about him is correct.
"Xavi has experienced many things as a player and has done a good job as a coach. I'll give him a huge hug, we'll talk."
Barcelona are expected to appoint former Bayern Munich and Germany coach Hansi Flick as Xavi's successor.
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