Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest: Dyche suffers losing Premier League return as hosts go second
First-half goals from Marcus Tavernier and Eli Kroupi were enough to condemn Sean Dyche to defeat on his Premier League return.
Bournemouth climbed to second place in the Premier League table following a routine 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
First-half goals from Marcus Tavernier and Eli Kroupi proved the difference at the Vitality Stadium, where Forest boss Sean Dyche suffered defeat in his first league game in charge.
Tavernier, who tested Matz Sels early on, broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with the first goal to be scored directly from a corner in the Premier League this season.
The in-form Kroupi then found the net for a third successive game in which he has featured, with his long-range effort on 40 minutes eventually proving enough to put the game beyond a lacklustre Forest.
Dyche made three changes at half-time and his side responded after the break. Morgan Gibbs-White's curling strike tested Djorde Petrovic, but they were generally lacking a clinical edge and slipped to another defeat.
Following Manchester City's loss at Aston Villa, the Cherries leapfrogged Pep Guardiola's side to second place with 18 points, while Forest remain in 18th place on five points.
Data Debrief: Buoyant Bournemouth continue to fly high
Bournemouth's tally of 18 points after nine league matches is their most ever at this stage of a top-flight season, surpassing the 17 points they picked up in 2018-19 under Eddie Howe.
Tavernier's goal was the first to be scored directly from a corner since Matheus Cunha scored for Wolves against Manchester United in December 2024. The winger is also the first Cherries player to score such a goal in the competition since Junior Stanislas nearly 10 years ago.
Kroupi then doubled the advantage with his fourth Premier League goal of the season, with Eintracht Frankfurt's Can Uzun (five) the only teenager to net more in the big five European leagues this term.
As for Forest, they have failed to score in four straight Premier League games for the first time since a run of five in November 1994. It is 448 minutes since they last found the net.
