Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze scored a convincing 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium on New Year’s Eve.
With new Bournemouth owner Bill Foley and minority shareholder Michael B Jordan looking on, the hosts produced a lackluster performance, but Palace fully deserved the three points in difficult conditions on the south coast.
Ayew put Palace in front in the 19th minute when he headed in Michael Olise’s corner and the visitors took firm control as Eze set up another brilliant Olise set-piece from the edge of play (36).
Bournemouth improved early in the second half but rarely threatened as Palace cruised comfortably to their first win since November 6.
The result leaves Gary O’Neil’s side 15th in the table and just three points above the relegation zone after their sixth defeat in seven Premier League games. Palace bounce back from back-to-back defeats and are 11th with 22 points.
How Palace ousted Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s new owners Foley and actor Jordan were introduced on the pitch before kick-off, but the Hollywood stardust did little to raise the cherry on top.
Both sides honored Pelle with a minute’s standing ovation before the action got underway under considerable rain.
Palace had a chance when the ball fell to Jeffrey Schlupp inside the penalty area, but his effort went wide of the left upright.
The visitors couldn’t manage a handful of early shots, but took the lead in the 19th minute when Ayew rose highest to meet Olinen’s corner and deflected a header into the bottom right corner from the six-yard line.
Olise looked to open the second when he sent the ball across goal from the right, but he ultimately couldn’t find a teammate to slot it past Mark Travers.
Palace then conceded a free-kick of their own which Jaidon Anthony took down the left to Kieffer Moore. The Cherries forward steered a threatening header into the area and forced Vicente Guaita to pounce on the catch to avoid the danger of an equaliser.
Jordan Ayew gave Crystal Palace a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute
The Eagles extended their lead after 36 minutes after Olise again set up his teammates from a perfectly placed corner. This time it was Eze who wasted no time curling a right-footed effort into the bottom left corner from near the penalty spot.
The rain eased after the restart, as did the home support, whose side looked calmer. Guaita somehow survived a number of Bournemouth attempts in the scramble before Travers blocked Eze’s sharp effort from a free-kick at the other end.
In the end, the hosts might have been consoled by the fact that the deficit wasn’t any bigger after Schlupp picked out Jean-Philippe Mateta, the substitute steering his effort wide.
Guaita stopped Siriki Dembele’s strike before Wilfried Zaha skied over late on and the visitors held off four minutes of added time to seal a clean sweep.
Eberechi Eze’s brilliant effort doubled Crystal Palace’s lead against Bournemouth
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What next?
Bournemouth travel to Manchester United in the Premier League on January 3 at 8pm before hosting Burnley in the FA Cup third round four days later.
Gary O’Neil’s side then return to Premier League action on January 14 at 5.30pm when they travel to Brentford, live Sky Sports.
Wednesday, January 4 at 7:30 p.m
Starts at 20:00
Next Crystal Palace is a Premier League home game against Tottenham on the 4th. January at 8 p.m., live broadcast Sky Sports.
Palace then host Southampton in the FA Cup third round on January 7 at 12.30pm before traveling to Chelsea in the league the following weekend.
