Bournemouth closer to European football after defeating Fulham | OneFootball

Fulham and Bournemouth both had players sent off in the first half at Craven Cottage but Rayan's second-half goal proved to be decisive.

The Cherries knew that defeating Fulham was important in their quest for European football and they  just about edged the game thanks to their Brazilian.

However, it was Bournemouth who went down to 10 men first when Ryan Christie lunged on Timothy Castagne and got none of the ball.

The Cottagers didn't have much time to make numerical advantage play though when Joachim Andersen went in unnecessarily hard on Adrien Truffert. Both red cards needed VAR reviews but we're probably correct decisions.

The decisive moment of the game came eight minutes into the second period when a long cross from the left was recovered by Adam Smith who shifted to Rayan to fire in past Bernd Leno.

The home side had opportunities but ultimately weren't able to find a way back into the game. That result means Bournemouth keep in step with Brighton in their pursuit of European football while Marco Silva's side remain midtable.

Incidents: The story of the match

Fulham Official Line-ups:

Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Calvin Bassey, Joachim Andersen, Antonee Robinson, Emile Smith Rowe, Tom Cairney, Sasa Lukic, Samuel Chukwueze, Harry Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz

Bournemouth Official Line-ups:

Djordje Petrovic, Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi, James Hill, Adrien Truffert, Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, Rayan, Evanilson, Eli Junior Kroupi, Marcus Tavernier

1':

The match begins

41':

Red Card for Ryan Christie (Bournemouth)

Ryan Christie has now picked up 0 red in the competition (26 matches)

45 +7':

Red Card for Joachim Andersen (Fulham)

Joachim Andersen has now picked up 0 red in the competition (33 matches)

Bournemouth takes the lead 1-0 with Rayan scoring from outside the box into the right corner, assisted by Adam Smith.

53':

GOAL Bournemouth: Rayan (Bournemouth) scores!

Rayan scores goal number 5 in the competition (13 matches)

998':

The referee whistles for the end of the match