‘The only thing he lacked’: the Bournemouth striker behind a Premier League first, with a Leeds goalkeeper’s gift

Bournemouth 2-0 Leeds United gave the Cherries something they have never done before: three Premier League wins in a row with a clean sheet every time.

It has been quite a turnaround. Marco Rose failed to win any of his first six league games and his side lost 5-1 at Chelsea on October 10. They have not conceded since, in six straight wins by a combined 16-0 against Sturm Graz, Sunderland, AC Milan, Manchester United, Aston Villa and now Leeds.

Saturday’s game also said plenty about how thin the margins have been. Leeds were on top in this one until a goalkeeper’s mistake just after the half-hour.

How Bournemouth 2-0 Leeds turned on a VAR call and a short goal-kick

Leeds started the better side. Dominic Calvert-Lewin bundled the ball in after 11 minutes, only for VAR to spot a handball and chalk it off. Rose did not pretend otherwise afterwards.

He said: “We conceded a goal, then lucky us, from then we grew into the game. We won a high ball and scored an easy goal but it was hard work.”

That easy goal came in the 31st minute. James Trafford gave the ball away from a short goal-kick, Justin Kluivert pounced and Evanilson finished. Leeds had 10 shots in the match, only one of them on target, and finished on just 0.61 expected goals.

The second arrived in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and it came from the bench. Eli Junior Kroupi nutmegged his way to a lovely assist and fellow substitute Amine Adli scored his third goal in four matches.

What has changed at the back for Rose?

The table explains why this first matters. Bournemouth let in 13 league goals in those six winless games, and have let in none in three since. They went into this game 13th and are seventh on 12 points after Saturday’s fixtures.

Rose put it down to nothing grander than detail. He told BBC Sport: “We have our patterns, we know how to defend the box and we know what we have to do. We were just working on details. We stick to our plan, stick together. We are a little more alert in a couple of situations. It’s about small things at this level, especially against such a good opposition like today.”

There is a fair challenge to that. The three league wins came against sides who are now 20th, 17th and 11th, so this defence has yet to be tested by a top-half side in the league. It did shut out AC Milan and Aston Villa along the way, though, and that is hard to wave away.

Is Evanilson finally the finisher Rose wanted?

He had no goals in Bournemouth’s first five league games. He has now scored in four straight, the longest such run of his Premier League career, and has five goals in his last six games in all competitions. We flagged him as the man to watch in our Bournemouth vs Leeds preview, and his finish at Old Trafford last weekend was the pick of the lot.

Rose’s point is that the goals are the only new part. He said: “That’s what he did always. He was always working hard in and out of possession. The only thing he lacked was scoring by himself and that’s what he’s started now. I hope he’s getting in a run because that’s very important for us.”

The numbers back him up. Evanilson has eight league goal involvements this season, four goals and four assists, and only Erling Haaland, with nine, has more. Last season he managed seven in 36 appearances.

Kluivert deserves a mention too. He has now assisted in back-to-back league games after going 32 league outings without one.

Trafford’s bad day and Leeds’ bigger problem

Before kick-off, Trafford had the best save percentage in the division at 82.4%, and we said anything Leeds took from this game would probably run through him. Instead he decided it the other way.

Daniel Farke called it “self-inflicted, an own goal”, but stood by the way his goalkeeper plays. He said: “I want a confident goalkeeper who plays out from the back. He normally spots the scene better.” He added that Trafford “will save us way more points than perhaps he cost us today” and “shouldn’t change his game just after one mistake.”

He is probably right, and that is why the mistake isn’t the real worry. Leeds have now scored twice in five league games, all of them without a win, and they started the day seventh and ended it 11th. Calvert-Lewin has also still not scored in four visits to the Vitality Stadium, even if he came close to changing that.

Where do Bournemouth go from here?

The run goes back on the line in the Europa League on Thursday, away at Sparta Prague, and a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool is waiting further down the road.

Rose also has more to come from Kroupi, who is the forward Bournemouth refuse to sell in January and is still working his way back. He said: “He could be a key factor for us this season. He’s not yet 100 per cent fit but he understands the game and how he solves issues in tight situations.” Rose also said Kroupi “played 25 minutes today” and that “we’re going to increase his match time more and more.”

Verdict: Bournemouth 2-0 Leeds flattered them, but the run is real

Take away the goal-kick and this could easily have been another draw for Leeds, who shared two 2-2s with the Cherries last season. Bournemouth still earned their luck by being ready when it came, and that alertness is exactly what Rose is talking about.

Six clean sheets in a row is not an accident, and neither is a striker with four goals in four league games. The real test is a top-half league side, and we think this team is now good enough to pass it.