Cherries earn 4th win of season
in the close-season.
Palace threatened an immediate response when Luka Milivojevic’s free-kick took a deflection off the Bournemouth wall and almost crept in at the near post.
Wilson shot into the side-netting under pressure from Palace defender Sakho, while Steve Cook headed straight at goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey from Brooks’ cross.
Despite dominating the first half, Bournemouth were pegged back in dubious circumstances in the 55th minute.
Wilfried Zaha slipped a pass to Van Aanholt in the Bournemouth area and, although the Palace defender was clearly offside, the flagged stayed down.
Van Aanholt took full advantage, thumping a blistering drive past Asmir Begovic into the roof of the net for his second goal of the season.
Hodgson’s team shouted for a penalty when Andros Townsend crossed to Jordan Ayew and the Palace striker went down under pressure from Nathan Ake, but referee Mike Dean waved play on.
Dean would still have a part to play as he spotted Sakho when he caught Lerma in the face with a needless elbow in the 87th minute.
Stanislas stepped up to take the penalty and dinked it down the middle to score with his first touch after coming off the bench.
Standings Crystal Palace’s English midfielder Aaron Wan-Bissaka (left), vies with Bournemouth’s Norwegian striker Joshua King during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Crystal Palace at the
Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on Oct 1. (AFP)
Note: standings read as played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against and day, on improving both physically and technically,” Neymar added.
Asked about the injury in March which ended his PSG season and compounded his build-up to the World Cup in Russia, Neymar said it had made him “very sad.” Brazil’s elimination from the quarter-finals of the competition was also a source of “great frustration”.
But he added: “My injury, the World Cup, they are in the past.” After losing their opening group game to Liverpool, PSG need a victory against Red Star if they are to salvage their group campaign.
Tuchel said Tuesday his public statements after the loss at Anfield were not the same as his “unofficial” reaction.
“You can well imagine that the official reaction should not be the unofficial reaction,” he said.
“It was a very tough defeat for us, we did not play to our best. Certain criticism had to be made in the dressing room.
“It was only the first match in the group, so you cannot exaggerate the criticism, we had to keep calm,” said the German. Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon practices during a training session on the eve of the team’s Champions League football match against Belgrade (Crvena zvezda) on Oct 2, at the Camp des Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye
near Paris. (AFP)
“I am very happy with their reaction, we have to continue tomorrow.”
After saying that Neymar was not quite 100%, Tuchel said: “For me, it’s normal because he was injured for a long time and it was a very difficult and complicated World Cup for him.” “He did not have a normal pre-season and everyone is watching him to see if he is in top form or if he makes mistakes, it’s difficult for him.
“He’s a player who needs to be in a good state of mind, training with a smile.
“Honestly, I am very happy with ‘Ney’, he will reach top form, 100%, and that is very necessary,” the coach said.
“Now he is very confident, involved in the club and in the project here and we are very satisfied.” Atletico Madrid are preparing for what theoretically is their easiest Champions League opponents.
The team won’t be taking them lightly, though.
Atletico, which host Club Brugge on Wednesday, failed to advance to the knockout round last year following four straight seasons contending for the European title. The surprise elimination came after consecutive draws – away and at home – against Azeri club Qarabag.
Atletico finished the group with a home win over Roma and a draw at Chelsea, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the poor start.
Atletico opened this year’s competition with a 2-1 win at Monaco, and now they’re back at home, and playing against a team thought to be the weakest in Group A. Belgium champions Brugge are back in the group stage of the Champions League after a oneyear absence. They opened with a 1-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund.
Last season’s debacle came following Atletico’s bittersweet move from their longtime fortress – the Vicente Calderon Stadium – to the modern Wanda Metropolitano, which is bigger but hasn’t provided the same raucous atmosphere. Many fans had feared the team would lose some of their homefield advantage, and the concerns persist a year later.
“I’m sorry if what I’m going to say offends anyone, but I prefer the Vicente Calderon,” Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez told Cadena SER radio last week. “Maybe because of how they built the new stadium, which is bigger and more open, you don’t hear the fans as much on the field. When I talk to players from other teams they say the same thing. It’s different from what it was at the Calderon.” Atletico have already struggled at the Metropolitano this season, being held by Eibar to a 1-1 draw in the Spanish League last month. They had edged promoted Rayo Vallecano 1-0 and defeated Huesca 3-0 in their other two home games.
Despite Atletico’s struggles in the Champions League last season, the Metropolitano wasn’t in the team’s way as they went on to win the Europa League with victories in every home game.