AFC Bournemouth headed to the Hill-Dickinson stadium for the first ever time last night, taking on Everton. It wasn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but Andoni Iraola’s side came away with a very important three points – here are five things we learned across the 90 minutes.

1. Fleetwood Town were robbed

James Hill cost just £1M when signed from League One Fleetwood in January 2022. Fast forward four years, Hill is now a mainstay in an AFCB side pushing for Europe, deservedly keeping out £35M signing Bafode Diakite, as well as top European prospect Veljko Milosavjlevic. It was a monstrous performance from Hill last night, no better summed up early in the second half, when 1-0 down, the defender somehow prevented a second for Everton. First he brilliantly slid in front of Thierno Barry to prevent a tap in, before seconds later bravely heading a goal bound Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall effort over the bar. Hill had a massive 20 defensive contributions, made up of 13 clearances (seven of which were headed), three tackles, three interceptions, two recoveries and a block. Just as important as all of that was his assist for Amine Adli’s header, wisely heading across goal for Adli when he could have had a shot himself. That is his third assist in 10 games since coming into the side, not including the chaos caused by his long throw against Liverpool. Not bad for a centre back.

2. Andoni Iraola has a midfield headache

It was great to see Ryan Christie in from the off last night, just his second PL start of the season. He performed well and was able to last 80 minutes, continuing his good run of form since returning to the squad after injury. As well as that, Alex Toth made his first start for the club, putting in a solid performance in the ’10’ position behind Evanilson. Tyler Adams made his return to the bench after a 2 month injury layoff, with Alex Scott starting and Lewis Cook also among the substitutes. That means Andoni Iraola now has five players to pick from for three, maybe two (if Kroupi starts in the ’10’) positions – all of whom are more than good enough. Having only had one fit midfielder at times this season, it’s a good dilemma to have, but a dilemma nonetheless. How does he keep everyone happy?

3. Rayan is built for the Premier League

Rightly or wrongly, I didn’t have sky high expectations for Rayan, given he is a very young man and it can take a while for players to adapt in a new country. But he has been a revelation in his first few games, fans of other sides already scratching their heads at how he ended up at Bournemouth compared to ‘bigger’ clubs. After giving away a penalty all of his own accord to have the team a goal down at the break, it would’ve been easy for the young Brazilian to go into hiding. But his character was fully on show in the second half, heading down well to equalise from close range, and brilliantly taking on Vitaly Mykolenko minutes before that, being denied a penalty he felt was warranted. Perhaps what impressed me more than that was his willingness to get back and defend, with some very good moments in his own half. The penalty give away may be a blessing in disguise down the line, as long as he learns from his mistake. He is a supremely exciting talent, and I can’t wait to see more of him.

4. It’s very nice to win without playing well

Not playing at your best and winning isn’t a habit you want to get into, but it has happened in the last two away games, against Wolves and Everton. Iraola’s side had only won one on their travels prior to that, so no one will be complaining about how the three points come about. On Saturday against Aston Villa was one of the best Cherries’ performance of the season, but they were only able to come away with a point. Last night’s performance was honestly nowhere close to those levels, but a crazy eight minute spell saw two goals for Bournemouth and a red card for Everton which sealed the win in the end. The performance after the red card was concerning, with Everton having the majority of the ball and looking far more likely to score. Game management is very important and it wasn’t done too well last night, but thankfully for Andoni Iraola, his side were not punished. If AFCB are truly set on making a European push this season, these are the sorts of games you have to win – the winning is all that will be remembered, not the way in which it was done.

5. Striker options may need to be explored in the summer

I don’t like picking players out for criticism, but I’m not sure Enes Unal fits the way AFC Bournemouth want to play under Andoni Iraola. And it feels extremely harsh to call out a player who has had two ACL injuries, and seems very popular in the changing room, but it’s clear that the injuries have come at a cost of some pace for Unal. That’s to be expected, but pace is so dearly required to fit into this Bournemouth side. At one point Unal was leading a three on one charge, but got it all wrong, passing it straight to Jarrad Branthwaite when David Brooks was all alone to Unal’s left. I’m not convinced the club believe Junior Kroupi is ready to lead the line yet – as good as his finishing is, there’s a lot more to it than that. Evanilson does everything else brilliantly but can lack the finishing touch, and struggled to get into the game against a big back line yesterday. If the team want to push on, I feel greater competition for Evanilson/Kroupi is required, and unfortunately Unal does not fit that bill.

6 unbeaten in the Premier League with four wins in that spell, AFCB are heating up at just the right time. Great to tick off a new ground, as well! Up the Cherries!