THE Cherries snatched a dramatic late point with what was almost the final kick of the game against Aston Villa.
A Ross Barkley goal with 14 minutes to play looked to be giving Villa all three points, but Evanilson guided a fantastic header into the far corner from a Marcus Tavernier free kick with just moments to play.
An entertaining first half saw the hosts have a goal disallowed, as the game remained goalless at the break.
Mark Travers made some excellent saves in both halves to keep the game at 0-0, but Barkley was able to divert it past the Irish keeper from Leon Bailey’s knockdown with 76 minutes on the clock.
The Cherries pushed hard for the equaliser and found it deep into stoppage time through Brazilian substitute Evanilson, breaking their hosts’ hearts.
Andoni Iraola made four changes from the side that started in the 2-0 victory over Arsenal, with two enforced through injury.
Ryan Christie returned to the starting eleven after his goalscoring performance off the bench last weekend, replacing Alex Scott, who had surgery on his meniscus this week.
Mark Travers came in for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who missed out through an abductor issue, while Justin Kluivert and Enes Unal came in for Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson, who dropped to the bench.
Unai Emery, meanwhile, named Ollie Watkins ahead of Jhon Duran up front for the hosts, with former Cherries loanee Morgan Rogers also named in the starting lineup.
The hosts got the game underway and were on top in the opening exchanges, with Watkins causing problems for the visitors in behind their defence.
Amadou Onana was booked for a crunching challenge on Enes Unal inside the Cherries half on four minutes, but it was Villa who had more of the early running.
Watkins latched onto a ball over the top after five minutes but couldn’t find Jacob Ramsey with his cutback, before Rogers fired over the bar.
Kluivert was next to be booked for a challenge on Youri Tielemans after 10 minutes as Villa looked to break, before Dango Ouattara was played through but good work from Ezri Konsa meant he couldn’t get a shot off.
Illia Zabarnyi then made a crucial challenge to stop a two on one for the home side, before Travers made a good save from a Tielemans effort after 15 minutes.
Travers caught easily from a Watkins header, before Tielemans was booked for a foul on Christie as Cherries attempted to break.
Referee Chris Kavanagh then booked Julian Araujo for a foul on Ramsay.
Travers made a fantastic save from the resulting free kick as the ball was dinked in by Lucas Digne to Amadou Onana, with his header headed for the far corner, before the keeper’s crucial intervention.
The home side had the ball in the back of the net on half an hour after a fine finish from John McGinn on the right-hand side of the Cherries box.
But, after a VAR check, the ball was deemed to have gone out of play from Ramsey’s ball across the face of the goal in the build-up, and it was disallowed.
Araujo was substituted immediately afterwards for Adam Smith, before Emiliano Martinez was called into action in the Villa net.
Kluivert picked the ball up from Semenyo on the left and had a go from distance, with the Argentine keeper getting across well to palm it behind.
The Cherries had a bit of a spell of pressure of their own, with Kluivert shooting wide, before Smith was booked for fouling Watkins after he was dispossessed near the Cherries box by the English forward.
Travers made another fine save from the resulting free kick, as Ezri Konsa let fly from the edge of the box, with the Irishman at full stretch to tip it over the bar.
Ramsey was then booked for fouling Kluivert as he tried to break from the resulting corner, before a good chance for the Cherries as Unal couldn’t find the target from a free header.
The Turkish forward was then booked after kicking the ball away after he was offside, before Ouattara drew a good save from Martinez with a shot from distance.
The sides went in at 0-0 after an entertaining first half.
Tielemans had a couple of efforts early on in the second period, before McGinn went into the book for a foul on Milos Kerkez as he went to get on the end of a give and go.
Jhon Duran came on for the hosts before Digne was booked for a foul on Ouattara, with the resulting free kick easily claimed by Martinez.
Travers made two excellent saves in quick succession, tipping Pau’s shot from 25 yards and Watkins’ powerful header over the bar.
Unal and Kluivert were replaced by Evanilson and Tavernier shortly after the hour mark, before McGinn and Digne were replaced by Ian Maatsen and Leon Bailey.
Duran saw a shot zip past the post as the game entered the final 15 minutes.
The home side took the lead on 76 minutes as a Bailey knockdown from Maatsen’s cross fell to Barkley, who diverted the ball past Travers.
Semenyo was then booked for diving as he went down in the Villa box, before Kerkez and Christie were replaced by David Brooks and Tyler Adams.
Watkins was also taken off for Boubacar Kamara for the hosts, before the ball appeared to hit Bailey’s arm in the box from a corner, but the handball wasn’t given.
Tavernier was booked for a foul on Kamara, before the game entered six added minutes.
Tavernier won three free kicks in a similar position on the left in added time, with the midfielder taking each of the set pieces.
For the third, he was fouled by Barkley, and with moments left to play, Travers headed up from the back for the free kick.
But the keeper wasn’t needed in the box as Tavernier’s ball in was brilliantly flicked on by substitute Evanilson to nestle in the far corner of the net to send the away end into joyous celebration.
The final whistle was blown just seconds after the subsequent kick off as Cherries rescued a dramatic late point.
Aston Villa: 23, E. Martínez; 12, L. Digne (booked 58')(I. Maatsen 71’); 14, Pau Torres; 4,E. Konsa; 2, M. Cash (booked 90'+4); 41, J. Ramsey (booked 41'); 8, Y. Tielemans (booked 18'); 24, A. Onana (booked 4')(R. Barkley, 46’(booked 90+6)); 7, J. McGinn (c), (booked 55’)(L. Bailey 71'); 27, M. Rogers (J. Durán 57'); 11, O. Watkins (B. Kamara 82').
AFC Bournemouth: 42, M. Travers; 3, M. Kerkez (D. Brooks 81'); 5, M. Senesi; 27, I. Zabarnyi; 22, J. Araujo (booked 21')(A. Smith 30’(booked 40’)); 4, L. Cook (c); 10, R. Christie (T. Adams 81'); 24, A. Semenyo (booked 80'); 19, J. Kluivert (booked 10')(M. Tavernier 64' (booked 90’)); 11, D. Ouattara; 26, E. Ünal (booked 45'+1)(Evanilson 64').
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