Relieved Newcastle boss Eddie Howe hailed “inspirational” Matt Ritchie after seeing him come off the bench to snatch a Premier League draw with former club Bournemouth.

The 34-year-old midfielder struck seconds after his stoppage-time introduction – his first goal since July 2022 – to hand the Magpies a 2-2 draw as they twice came from behind to deny the Cherries.

Head coach Howe said: “He’s an inspirational character behind the scenes. He’s someone who in training every day, he drives standards.

“He’s very vocal, very enthusiastic. Even in the changing room before the game, he’s the one driving the group – and that’s someone who hasn’t played as much as he’d like, but he’s put the team ahead of his own needs.

“When you see someone like that, you just hope they will get their reward. I’ve tried to reward him with my value being as high as it could be and desperately wanting to keep him here last year because of those standards he drives, and because he’s a role model.

“He gives his experience to players in ways that even I don’t know. For him to get that moment and score that goal, it’s huge for us and I’m delighted for him.”

Ritchie’s intervention could hardly have been better-timed on an eventful afternoon at St James’ Park.

After a first half during which goalkeeper Martin Dubravka had keep the hosts in the game, he inadvertently handed Bournemouth a 51st-minute lead when he slipped after controlling Sven Botman’s back-pass and Dominic Solanke took full advantage.

Anthony Gordon levelled from the penalty spot after a lengthy VAR check for Adam Smith’s tug on Fabian Schar’s shirt, a decision which infuriated Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

Iraola said: “For me it’s very difficult to accept the result. I cannot accept the first goal they scored, the penalty decision. He’s in an offside position.

“I’ve been talking to the referees after the game. I’m not smart enough to understand their explanations. If only we are talking about the foul – it’s a very soft foul for a set-piece because on set-pieces and corners, everyone grabs, goes to the floor and they are not calling anything all season, but they called a foul.

“We have to accept it. We will complain, but we have to accept it. But he was in an offside position, the ball goes exactly where he is, my player grabs the shirt because otherwise he is going to head the ball, obviously affects the play, and they spend 10 minutes (with) five, six referees watching the play.

“Also the VAR doesn’t show the referee the wide camera so he can take the decision of the offside position. For me, it’s very difficult to accept, very, very, very difficult to accept, because I think we deserve a little bit of respect.

“I know we are Bournemouth, we are a small club, but we deserve much more respect than this.”

Antoine Semenyo looked to have won it with a sweet 69th-minute strike, but Ritchie had different ideas.

Howe said: “The way the game had gone and the goals we conceded were tough blows for us. Real credit to the group for raising themselves. It’s not the three (points) we wanted, but I’m glad we didn’t lose.”

Substitute Matt Ritchie came to Newcastle’s rescue as they fought back twice to snatch a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in an incident-packed Premier League game at St James’ Park.

Ritchie had only been on the pitch for seconds when he scored in stoppage time, cancelling out Antoine Semenyo’s stunning strike just as it looked like the visitors would emerge with all three points.

Dominic Solanke’s 16th goal – and third against Eddie Howe’s men – of the season had given the Cherries the lead, but Anthony Gordon levelled with a contentiously-awarded penalty in front of a crowd of 52,224 which included sporting director Dan Ashworth, whose pursuit by Manchester United had thrust him into the headlines this week.

Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto enjoyed a stroke of good fortune when Gordon charged down his attempted clearance and saw the ball ricochet across his goal and wide of the far post, and his side might have gone ahead twice within seconds in the 16th minute.

First Martin Dubravka saved from from Marcus Tavernier’s long-range effort and then denied Solanke after Justin Kluivert, playing against one of his father Patrick’s former clubs, had carved his way into the Magpies penalty area.

The Slovakia international spared Newcastle once again with an instinctive 24th-minute block from Solanke after he had met Tavernier’s cross.

Miguel Almiron whistled a curling left-foot shot just wide after exchanging passes with Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar warmed Neto’s hands from distance five minutes before the break, but there was to be no breakthrough before the half-time whistle.

In a scrappy start to the second half, Almiron drilled a 49th-minute attempt just over the bar after running on to Longstaff’s pass and side-stepping defender Illya Zabarnyi, but it was the visitors who took a 51st-minute lead thanks to a gift from Dubravka.

The keeper slipped after controlling Sven Botman’s back-pass and in the process served up a tap-in for Solanke.

Bournemouth’s lead lasted just seven minutes as the Magpies got themselves back on terms in controversial fashion.

Referee Michael Salisbury, who until that point had done little to endear himself to the home fans, was advised to review Adam Smith’s challenge on Schar inside the area and after a lengthy spell at the pitchside monitor pointed to the spot, much to Cherries boss Andoni Iraola’s disbelief.

In the absence of the injured Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, Gordon took charge and dispatched his spot-kick firmly past Neto to level.

Kluivert fired wastefully over after Solanke had made a nuisance of himself and Marcos Senesi sent the ball inches wide of his own goal as he attempted to cut out Bruno Guimaraes’ cross with both sides going for victory.

The visitors regained the advantage with 21 minutes remaining when Semenyo picked up possession in space down the right and drew full-back Dan Burn before thumping a low shot past the helpless Dubravka.

Dubravka had to be at his best to claw away Lewis Cook’s deflected shot, setting the stage for Ritchie to level in the second of 10 minutes of added time, stabbing home from close range against his former club after his header from Guimaraes’ cross had been blocked by Cook.

Marco Silva believes Rodrigo Muniz played his “best performance in a Fulham shirt” after he scored a brace during their 3-1 Premier League victory over Bournemouth.

Muniz, who scored his first-ever English top-flight goal in Fulham’s 2-2 draw with Burnley last week, netted his third strike in as many games alongside goals from Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi.

Silva lauded the performance of the 22-year-old forward as Fulham claimed their first league win since New Year’s Eve.

“I’m really pleased for him and he really deserves it,” Silva said.

“When you have the chance, you have to step in and pop up and show your quality and it was the moment for Rodrigo to do it.

“This afternoon was probably his best performance in a Fulham shirt and he deserves it because he’s worked really hard.

“He had a good pre-season followed by a bad injury, but now he’s coming back and he’s fighting for what he wants and he’s showing the desire to play as the Fulham striker.

“The way he linked our game and played behind the pressure of the midfielders was really good.”

January loan signing Armando Broja came off the bench but failed to match Muniz’s performance up front.

Silva insisted that – much like the rest of the squad – the Albania international would have to wait his turn to claim a starting XI spot.

When asked if Broja would have to be patient, Silva added: “Not just him, but everyone.

“He’s a player who is here to help us and I believe he will help us. It’s competition between strikers and I will decide what is best for us in each game.

“We believe Armando will help us in the next few months because he is a player with a profile which I think will help.”

Fulham did not look back after De Cordova-Reid’s strike gave them the lead after five minutes. The potent winger capitalised on Lewis Cook’s slip before he drilled the ball home from six yards out.

Muniz poached Fulham’s second of the match, nine minutes before the break. Willian lofted a cross to De Cordova-Reid at the back post, who turned creator by nodding his effort into the danger zone and Muniz scored from inside the six-yard box with a roofed finish.

Bournemouth needed a response and they got just that five minutes into the second half when Senesi pulled one back for the visitors but – just two minutes later – Fulham responded in fashion when Muniz grabbed his second of the match.

Cherries manager Andoni Iraola believes the early goal hampered his side’s performance.

He said: “We conceded too much in the beginning of the game and we didn’t get nothing from today.

“Especially the first goal. It can’t happen, it’s a slip in a dangerous position.”

Rodrigo Muniz scored a brace as Fulham claimed their first Premier League win of the year with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at Craven Cottage.

Muniz was given the nod over January loan signing Armando Broja and scored twice, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Cherries defender Marcos Senesi also got in on the act.

Muniz, who scored his first-ever Premier League goal in last week’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, looked bright from the start during the victory for the west Londoners.

The Brazilian jinked past three defenders – showing exceptional ball control – before being brought down on the edge of Bournemouth’s area.

Marco Silva’s decision to start Muniz continued to pay off into the fifth minute when he was heavily involved with Fulham’s opening goal.

The tenacious striker evaded his marker down the right channel before his driven cross, which seemed routine for Lewis Cook to clear, caused the midfielder to slip, allowing De Cordova-Reid to power home from close range.

Tom Cairney recovered after taking a ball to the face and seemed unfazed when he performed a neat turn on halfway, unleashing Antonee Robinson, who was denied by goalkeeper Neto after an impressive reaction save at his left-hand post.

Muniz’s electric start reached another level when he poached Fulham’s second of the match, nine minutes before the break.

Willian lofted a cross to De Cordova-Reid at the back post, who turned creator by nodding his effort into the danger zone. The potent Muniz started behind the defender but reacted quickest and scored from inside the six-yard area with a roofed finish.

Bournemouth needed a response and they got just that – five minutes into the second half – when Senesi pulled one back for the visitors.

Marcus Tavernier’s corner was knocked down by Dominic Solanke before centre-back Senesi showed fantastic composure to control the ball and score on the half-volley to reduce the deficit.

But just two minutes later, Fulham responded in fashion when Muniz grabbed his second of the match.

Experienced technician Willian floated a similar cross to that of the second goal. But this time the unmarked Muniz drifted to the back post before his first-time strike smashed into the net and past the helpless Neto.

Broja came off the bench and looked to stamp his authority on the game. The Chelsea youth prospect hustled the back four and won a corner after the visitors were forced to cut out his dangerous pass into the box.

Bournemouth searched for a late fightback but the Cottagers held on through seven added minutes to leapfrog their opponents into 12th.

Nuno Espirito Santo delivered a stern message to Philip Billing after the Bournemouth substitute was dismissed for what the Nottingham Forest boss felt was a “compromising” challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The incident happened late in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at the Vitality Stadium, where Hudson-Odoi had cancelled out Justin Kluivert’s fifth-minute opener before the break.

Referee Rebecca Welch, who was booed off the pitch, issued Billing a straight red card in the 84th minute of the stop-and-start contest when he clipped the Forest goal-scorer’s Achilles in a midfield challenge. The sight of Hudson-Odoi limping off dampening an afternoon in which relegation-threatened Forest picked up a valuable point.

Nuno, who agreed with Welch’s decision, said: “It’s obvious that it’s a red card and it’s not fair because I think, with all my respect to Billing, I hope he understands when he listens to these words.

“There’s other ways to stop the game. There’s other ways, without compromising the player, you know what I mean? There’s other ways.”

There were few clear-cut chances in the second half a contest that was characterised by its stop-and-start rhythm, with 31 fouls and 17 corners collectively conceded.

The hosts quickly established a lead from Lewis Cook’s corner, flicked on by Luis Sinisterra to Kluivert, who tapped the fifth-minute opener past January signing Matz Sels on his Forest debut, before Hudson-Odoi drew the sides level.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola disagreed with Welch’s decision to send off Billing and – when asked if he agreed with his counterpart’s assessment that the game had been “not easy at all for the referee” – said: “I think there haven’t been any difficult decisions to take.

“Probably the level of fouls called was much higher than other games, normally in the Premier League you don’t arrive to 20 or something like this, so everything was much stopped and this can affect the result.”

Iraola also felt his side should have been given a final corner before Welch, who in December became the first woman to referee a Premier League contest, blew the whistle on seven minutes of second-half stoppage-time.

He did not, however, feel the official, whose performance in the Cherries’ FA Cup tie with QPR he praised, was treated any differently because of her gender after chants of “you’re not fit to referee” rang out around the stadium.

If another referee had made the same decisions, Iraola said: “I think it would be the same reception. I think against QPR she dealt with the game really, really well.

“Today probably there were a lot of stops and probably it wasn’t an easy game for her, but I don’t think (the reception) would be different.”

Callum Hudson-Odoi struck late in the first half of Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 Premier League draw at 10-man Bournemouth to secure a vital point for his relegation-threatened side.

Justin Kluivert gave the hosts an early lead, but the sides were back on level terms after Hudson-Odoi curled in the equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

His afternoon came to a premature end, however, when substitute Philip Billing clipped the back of his Achilles and was dismissed by referee Rebecca Welch, who was booed off the pitch by the home support.

Dominic Solanke needed just a goal to draw level with Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot chase, but barely touched the ball in the stop-and-start contest.

The hosts quickly established a lead from Lewis Cook’s corner, flicked on by Luis Sinisterra to Kluivert, who tapped the fifth-minute opener past January signing Matz Sels on his Forest debut.

Taiwo Awoniyi – looking for his 12th goal of the campaign – had forced Neto into two simple stops by the 15-minute mark and perhaps should have done better on his second attempt after a threatening run.

Antoine Semenyo tried to extend the Cherries’ advantage with a sharp effort from the right, while a scramble from a Forest corner was finally shut down when Neto denied Ryan Yates from close range.

Save another soft Yates effort, neither side looked like scoring as the contest approached the halfway point of the staccato, set-piece-heavy period until Hudson-Odoi squared things up on the stroke of half-time.

Morgan Gibbs-White floated in a free-kick from the right and the awaiting Hudson-Odoi took his time, weaving his way through a sea of red before curling the equaliser past Neto and into the bottom-right corner.

The second half began with a familiar rhythm to the first, Forest unable to do anything with the contest’s 10th corner, while Bournemouth’s sixth of the afternoon – and 11th of the match – was also cleared.

Andoni Iraola made three changes early in the half, bringing in Marcus Tavernier for Semenyo immediately after the restart before replacing Kluivert – who had previously been booked by Welch – with Biling, and bringing on Alex Scott for Ryan Christie.

It remained anyone’s game with 20 minutes remaining, Tavernier having tried his luck but firing over, while Selz managed to get his hand to another Bournemouth corner.

Welch showed Billing a straight red in the 84th minute, when the Denmark international clipped the back of Hudson-Odoi’s ankle in midfield.

The Forest goal scorer limped to the touchline and briefly looked like carrying on before the contest entered seven minutes of stoppage time, where neither side was able to make a difference.

David Moyes admitted Kalvin Phillips was not up to speed after he endured a nightmare West Ham debut by gifting Bournemouth a goal with almost his first touch in claret and blue.

The England midfielder, whose loan switch from Manchester City was arguably the most high-profile deal in this transfer window, inadvertently set up Dominic Solanke to score with less than three minutes gone.

Fortunately for West Ham, a James Ward-Prowse penalty in the second-half was enough to secure a 1-1 draw.

“It’s not a goal we concede too often and it gave them a leg up,” said Moyes.

“Then we had to perform and we weren’t at a level to do that. It wasn’t as good as it should have been.

“Kalvin’s fine, he got best part of 70 minutes in. I said before we might have to go a bit gently with him.

“I thought as the game went on he was starting to get better, but he was a bit slow at the start and in getting into the way we play.

“I’m happy with a point but not happy with the performance. We got back in the game and I didn’t think we performed well after that either.

“It looked as if we had had 10 days off tonight, like we’d had a holiday, the players looked leggy.”

Moyes was annoyed that West Ham, for the second time this season, had to play on transfer deadline day.

The Hammers boss had planned to name midfielder Pablo Fornals on the bench, only to have to change his plans after the club agreed a fee with Real Betis.

Fornals was still in the tunnel at the final whistle with Moyes in the dark over his future less than an hour before the deadline.

“It’s strange day to have a game and also the deadline,” he added: “We were planning to have Pablo involved tonight. He might still be here, who knows?

“I think it could have been wrapped up last night. It’s our own fault in this country we do so many deals in the last day. This window has been a really slow burner and we’ve had it on a game night.”

West Ham equalised on the hour when Mohammed Kudus was fouled by Lloyd Kelly and Ward-Prowse slammed home the spot-kick.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola said: “There is a part when you have to value the point, but I think if any team deserved to win today it was Bournemouth.

“We were 1-0 up and had very good chances but if you don’t punish these teams it can happen.”

Kalvin Phillips endured a nightmare West Ham debut after gifting Bournemouth a goal with almost his first touch in claret and blue.

The England midfielder, whose loan switch from Manchester City was arguably the most high-profile deal in this transfer window, inadvertently set up Dominic Solanke to score with less than three minutes gone.

Fortunately for West Ham, a James Ward-Prowse penalty in the second-half was enough to secure a 1-1 draw.

But Phillips, making a first Premier League start of the season having been reduced to less than a bit-part player at City, will not remember the opening moments of his debut fondly.

Kurt Zouma’s pass to him on the edge of the area was not great, admittedly, and Phillips was quickly closed down by Ryan Christie.

The Cherries midfielder appeared to have got a touch as the ball rolled to Solanke, who was clearly offside as he completed the simplest of finishes.

However, a VAR check showed it was Phillips who had actually played the ball to Solanke, and the offside decision was duly overturned.

It was Solanke’s second goal against the Hammers this season following a late equaliser on the south coast in August – soon before West Ham failed in a big-money bid to sign the striker.

The arrival of Phillips left boss David Moyes with a selection dilemma of which three of his four central midfielders should start.

His answer was all of them, with Phillips alongside Edson Alvarez in the middle, Ward-Prowse stationed out on the left and, most curiously of all, Tomas Soucek lumbering around alongside Jarrod Bowen in attack.

For 40 minutes it plainly did not work, with an understandably off-the-pace Phillips conceding cheap free-kicks and Bournemouth attacking whenever they pleased.

Their best chance came when Alvarez gave the ball away to Christie, who found Solanke on the edge of the box.

Solanke could have shot but instead squared the ball to Antoine Semenya, who was free on the right but drove too close to Alphonse Areola.

It was a huge let-off for West Ham and they twice came close to equalising late in the first half, with Bowen glancing a Ward-Prowse delivery straight at Neto and Soucek heading Mohammed Kudus’ cross wide.

West Ham re-emerged with a slight reshuffle, Ward-Prowse now playing as the second striker, and they were thrown a lifeline when Kudus was clumsily brought down in the area by Lloyd Kelly.

Referee Tim Robinson did not award the spot-kick on the pitch, but he had little choice once he had checked the replay.

Ward-Prowse stepped up to blast the penalty down the middle as Neto dived right to earn a point for the hosts.

Hibernian have been granted permission to proceed with an investment from the consortium that owns Bournemouth.

The Scottish Football Association board has approved the club’s dual interest dispensation request.

Hibs will now progress with an offer from the Black Knight group which owns a majority stake in Bournemouth and a 30 per cent stake in French Ligue 1 side Lorient.

The consortium, led by American Bill Foley, is reported to have offered to invest £6million into the cinch Premiership club, which is largely owned by the American-based family of late chairman Ron Gordon.

The SFA revealed the approval was subject to certain conditions, including that Black Knight’s shareholding does not exceed 29.99 per cent and that the agreement does not preclude Hibs participating in European competition because of dual interests.

A Hibs statement read: “The club now has an agreement in principle with Black Knight Football Club for minority investment into Hibernian FC.

“The investment proposal will now be shared and ratified at the Club’s Annual General Meeting, which will occur in February.”

The SFA’s articles on dual interest state that nobody who is involved in the management or administration of a club, or has any power to manage or influence the management or administration of a club should be able to do so for another club.

The agreement came after several meetings between Hibs and the SFA.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola admitted man-of-the-match David Brooks came up with the perfect answer to being left out of his team during the 5-0 FA Cup thrashing of Swansea.

Wales international Brooks made the most of a rare start this season by scoring one goal and making two more as the Cherries cruised into round five on Thursday night.

Iraola said: “The wing position is where we have more options and they are all playing really well.

“Sometimes it is difficult to leave players out. David played really well tonight.

“We were really clinical and started very strongly. It was strange to score five goals in the first half.

“We did not want to start slowly as we have in other cup games this season and were really impressive.

“Our number one priority was to be in the next round. We needed a very good performance after Sunday’s game against Liverpool, where we didn’t finish well.

“We have done our job and we are in the last 16 so let’s see what we get in the draw.”

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back and found himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner, after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Swansea manager Luke Williams said: “It was a horrible night for us.

“I apologised to the players because I tried to set the team up to give a problem to the opposition. It is a cup game and we have to try to find a way to win.

“But I put the balance wrong, with too many players in advanced positions and then in the turnover there is not enough bodies to stem the flow of the attack, and the opposition were very good.

“In the second half we had more bodies back, but then it was very difficult for us to get near their goal. We tried to limit the damage because the scoreline was too heavy.”

Swansea boss Luke Williams apologised for his team set-up after a “horrible night” saw them thrashed 5-0 by Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Williams had made five changes from Saturday’s 3-1 Sky Bet Championship defeat by Southampton, but soon found their game plan torn apart as the Premier League side raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes.

Lloyd Kelly gave the hosts an early lead when he volleyed in David Brooks’ free-kick at the far post, with Alex Scott soon adding another in the 10th minute.

Swansea goalkeeper goalkeeper Andy Fisher was punished when his loose pass was latched onto by Scott, who set up Luis Sinisterra to slot in Bournemouth’s third goal with just 14 minutes played.

After Kyle Naughton’s effort hit the post at the other end, Swansea fell further behind when Wales midfielder Brooks broke away onto Dominic Solanke’s through-ball in the 34th minute.

Solanke made it 5-0 just before half-time when he slotted in a low cross from Sinisterra.

Swansea stemmed the flow during the second half, but Bournemouth still created chances, with substitutes Kieffer Moore and Milos Kerkez both going close late on.

Williams offered no excuses. He said on S4C: “It was a horrible night for us.

“I apologised to the players because I tried to set the team up to give a problem to the opposition. It is a cup game and we have to try to find a way to win.

“But I put the balance wrong, with too many players in advanced positions and then in the turnover there is not enough bodies to stem the flow of the attack, and the opposition were very good.

“In the second half we had more bodies back, but then it was very difficult for us to get near their goal. We tried to limit the damage because the scoreline was too heavy.”

The sides had already met once earlier this season in the Carabao Cup, when Bournemouth edged through 3-2 at the Swansea.com Stadium with a late goal from Ryan Christie.

Williams admitted some of his players had looked “nervous” as they were taken apart during a blistering opening spell from the Cherries.

“I don’t want to single anybody out or talk about individual errors,” he said.

“We are playing against an outstanding team, who we are probably going to lose against because there is a big gap in the quality of the two teams at this moment in time.

“But tactics aside, making very easy openings (for Bournemouth) by making mistakes, that was disappointing – but I needed to help the team quicker and find a way to give them more bodies behind the ball to defend.”

Brooks captained Bournemouth, and was named player of the match having provided two assist as well as his goal.

“I’m trying to do the best I can when I get the minutes and the opportunities,” the Wales midfielder said.

“We have got a great group of players and today was one of the chances I get to show what I am capable of, and hopefully I’ve done that.

“I want to be as fit as possible for the (Euro 2024 play-offs with Wales in March) so am trying to get as much football as possible.

“These are the games where I can show what I can do to bump up the minutes ahead of the qualifiers.”

David Brooks’ classy display was the catalyst for Bournemouth thrashing Swansea 5-0 to become the first team to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

Wales international Brooks scored one goal and provided two assists as the Cherries racked up their biggest FA Cup win against a Football League side since beating Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the 1927-28 season.

Both teams made five changes from their weekend line-ups but that did not stop Bournemouth making light work of their Championship visitors to move into the last 16 for only the third time since 1989.

Andoni Iraola’s Premier League side stormed into a 3-0 lead with less than a quarter of an hour gone as Swansea’s defence completely capitulated on the south coast.

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back to find himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

The irrepressible Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top-scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Liam Cullen was unlucky not to reduce the deficit in first-half stoppage-time as his shot was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Bournemouth’s stand-in goalkeeper Mark Travers.

It was the first time the Cherries had been 5-0 up at the interval since beating non-league Margate 11-0 in an FA Cup first round tie in 1971.

Iraola rested Solanke for the second half but his replacement Kieffer Moore could have made it 6-0 within seconds of coming on after narrowly failing to get on the end of James Hill’s floated cross.

Moore came close again 15 minutes from time when his effort from midway inside the Swansea penalty area was deflected behind for a corner, while Milos Kerkez also slotted wide as the hosts failed to add to their tally.

The only negative for Bournemouth, already missing several key defenders, was losing defender James Hill to injury after he landed awkwardly midway through the second half.

David Brooks’ classy display was the catalyst for Bournemouth thrashing Swansea 5-0 to become the first team to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

Wales international Brooks scored one goal and provided two assists as the Cherries racked up their biggest FA Cup win against a Football League side since beating Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the 1927-28 season.

Both teams made five changes from their weekend line-ups but that did not stop Bournemouth making light work of their Championship visitors to move into the last 16 for only the third time since 1989.

Andoni Iraola’s Premier League side stormed into a 3-0 lead with less than a quarter of an hour gone as Swansea’s defence completely capitulated on the south coast.

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back to find himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

The irrepressible Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top-scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Liam Cullen was unlucky not to reduce the deficit in first-half stoppage-time as his shot was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Bournemouth’s stand-in goalkeeper Mark Travers.

It was the first time the Cherries had been 5-0 up at the interval since beating non-league Margate 11-0 in an FA Cup first round tie in 1971.

Iraola rested Solanke for the second half but his replacement Kieffer Moore could have made it 6-0 within seconds of coming on after narrowly failing to get on the end of James Hill’s floated cross.

Moore came close again 15 minutes from time when his effort from midway inside the Swansea penalty area was deflected behind for a corner, while Milos Kerkez also slotted wide as the hosts failed to add to their tally.

The only negative for Bournemouth, already missing several key defenders, was losing defender James Hill to injury after he landed awkwardly midway through the second half.

Diogo Jota is confident Premier League leaders Liverpool can sustain their quest for silverware in the absence of a host of star names following his second-half brace at Bournemouth.

The Reds set aside being without Mohamed Salah, who is due to return to Merseyside for treatment on a muscle injury suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, to move five points clear at the top thanks to a thumping 4-0 win.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was also missing defenders Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kostas Tsimikas and Joel Matip and midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara and Wataru Endo at Vitality Stadium.

Jota, whose quickfire strikes on the south coast were sandwiched between Darwin Nunez’s double, told Sky Sports: “It’s part of the job, we know we have a few injuries, players going away for national teams. It’s hard.

“We survived December; January is coming thick and fast from now on and we all need to be ready. I think we have the players and the quality to keep winning games.

“Of course we have world-class players – when we have them it’s easier.

“But when we don’t have them, that’s why we are Liverpool because we have good players and we kind of replace them and try to give our best and share the cost of the games between us and keep going.”

Liverpool initially struggled to create chances in their first league game this season without top scorer Salah before Nunez’s 49th-minute finish paved the way to fully capitalise on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

The Reds move on to their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham on Wednesday evening holding a 2-1 lead before completing the month by hosting Norwich in the FA Cup and Chelsea in the league.

While goal-scorers Nunez and Jota grabbed the headlines in Dorset, Alexis Mac Allister played an instrumental role.

The Argentina World Cup winner, who was sent off on his Anfield debut in a 3-1 victory over the Cherries in August – a decision which was later overturned, was singled out for his contribution by his manager.

“Absolutely exceptional performance, I have to say,” Klopp said of former Brighton midfielder Mac Allister.

“I’m so happy for us obviously but for him as well.

“He’s a really good footballer, let me say it like that. And he did defensively the job and offensively he is super important anyway for us.”

Bournemouth’s defeat was a second in succession after taking 19 points from the previous 21 available on the back of a 6-1 drubbing at Manchester City.

The 12th-placed Cherries turn their attention to Thursday evening’s FA Cup clash against Swansea, with head coach Andoni Iraola seeking a reaction from his players.

“We’ll see – we have another game, a different competition,” said the Spaniard.

“We know against this top, top level of opposition we have to be at our best and then have moments of some inspiration to finish things to make the final play and we didn’t find it.”

Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on a muscle injury picked up while on international duty, the Egyptian Football Association has announced.

The influential forward was forced off during the first half of Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana in Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations group match, causing concern for club and country.

It was later revealed the 31-year-old would miss the Pharaohs’ next two fixtures, if they progressed to the knockout stages of the competition in the Ivory Coast.

However, he will now attend Egypt’s final Group B against Cape Verde on Monday, where victory will secure their place in the last 16, before flying back to Liverpool for rehabilitation.

An Egyptian FA statement, posted on Liverpool’s official website on Sunday evening, read: “After additional examinations were conducted on Mohamed Salah during the last hours, and after communication between the national team’s medical staff and his counterpart at Liverpool FC, it was decided that the player will return to England after the Cape Verde match tomorrow to complete his treatment, with the hope that he will join the national team in the semi-final of the AFCON if we qualify.”

Premier League leaders Liverpool initially struggled to create in the absence of their talisman during Sunday’s game at Bournemouth, but moved five points clear at the top thanks to a crushing 4-0 win earned by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Speaking after the victory at the Vitality Stadium, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said it “makes sense” for Salah to fly back to Merseyside from the tournament.

“That’s the plan,” the German said before the news was confirmed. “If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan.

“However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.

“I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back.”

Liverpool overcame a slow start on a soggy south coast afternoon to run out resounding victors against the Cherries in their first league match of the season without 14-goal forward Salah.

Nunez broke the deadlock four minutes into the second period and then completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire brace as the Reds fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

“We had the opposite of a good start,” said Klopp. “We put ourselves under pressure.

“It’s about winning the game in the end and, as long as you stay in the game, pretty much anything that happens in the game is allowed.

“Today, step by step, we found a way in the game and won it.”

Defeat for 12th-placed Bournemouth was a second in succession in the top flight following 19 points from the previous 21 available.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola felt his side lost tactical discipline after falling behind.

“We started doing things that we haven’t done before, going too fast, not so disciplined tactically and obviously we played worse in the second half,” said the Spaniard.

“They were really clinical today. The first goal is difficult to defend, the other goals we could do more, we could defend better, react more quickly to the second balls.”

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.