Anass Zaroury and Manuel Benson both scored twice as Championship leaders Burnley beat Premier League strugglers Bournemouth in a thrilling FA Cup third-round tie at Vitality Stadium.
Benson’s opener for the Clarets was cancelled out by a Ryan Christie effort before Zaroury struck twice to give Burnley a 3-1 half-time lead.
Dominic Solanke cut the deficit but Benson added a fourth minutes later.
Bournemouth had chances late on but Burnley held on for a deserved victory.
The result will heap further pressure on Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil with the Cherries having now lost nine of their past 11 matches.
In contrast, Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, five points clear at the top of the Championship, continued to impress with an assured win over top-flight opposition, their 12th victory in 14 games.
Both sets of supporters will probably say this result is not a shock.
Burnley is the leading scorer across England’s top four divisions, while Bournemouth has now lost their past five games across three competitions.
Bournemouth is looking over their shoulder, just one point above the Premier League relegation zone; Burnley are flying and deservedly went in front through Benson’s early finish.
Christie soon levelled, pouncing on a loose pass from defender Josh Cullen, only for Zaroury to restore Burnley’s lead by finishing off a fine team move.
Zaroury added his second with a curling effort after some good footwork just before the break, but Solanke made it 2-3 when he headed in a rebound after Bailey Peacock-Farrell had saved his initial one-on-one.
But just as Bournemouth gained a slither of hope, Benson’s side-foot finish nine minutes later restored Burnley’s two-goal lead.
The hosts nearly bounced back when Christie saw an effort cleared off the line and Lloyd Kelly’s follow-up header hit the woodwork.
Burnley though, who have only lost to Watford, Sheffield United and Manchester United this season, held on as their supporters chanted “we’re going up, you’re going down”.
They face Coventry in the Championship next Saturday, while Bournemouth, who were booed off by some supporters at full-time, have a crucial game against Brentford on the same day in the Premier League.
source – BBC
