As the offside flag was raised, Jamie Vardy lamented a rare missed opportunity for Leicester in the second half, providing Bournemouth’s fans with a perfect moment to relish the No 9’s misfortune. Vardy, though not as fast as he once was, quickly reacted to the jeers from the corner of the ground nearest to him, turning his head towards the away supporters with a look of bewilderment before gesturing the 1-0 scoreline with his hands. Vardy was substituted shortly after, but Facundo Buonanotte’s superb solo goal ultimately decided the match. For Steve Cooper, it was a much-needed first Premier League win of the season. Prior to this, their only victory in normal time had been at home against Tranmere Rovers, a team just above the League Two relegation zone, in the Carabao Cup. It was far from easy for Leicester, who survived Bournemouth hitting the woodwork twice in the second half and saw Evanilson’s headed equaliser, from Lewis Cook’s precise free-kick, ruled out for offside.
Buonanotte’s first-half strike was a masterpiece. The Brighton loanee initiated the move a few yards inside the opposition half, exchanging passes with James Justin. Buonanotte then latched onto Justin’s chipped pass, stepped inside Marcos Senesi, and fired the ball high into the roof of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s net. Carlos Tevez, Buonanotte’s manager at Rosario Central, once likened the 17-year-old Buonanotte to Lionel Messi.
Leicester’s players received warm applause for their efforts as they headed down the tunnel at halftime, but Bournemouth intensified the pressure after the restart. Four minutes into the second half, Illia Zabarnyi slammed the ground in frustration after heading against a post from a Cook free-kick. On the 72nd minute, substitute Dango Ouattara glanced a header against the bar from a cross by another substitute, Luis Sinisterra. In between these chances, Evanilson saw his header disallowed and another effort, spinning, blocked by Wout Faes, while goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made a low save to his right from Ryan Christie.
Buonanotte’s strike was a rare highlight for the hosts as Bournemouth relentlessly attacked Leicester’s goal in the second half. Leicester managed to survive some tense defensive moments and held on through five minutes of second-half stoppage time, becoming the first team promoted from the Championship last season to secure a league victory.
