AFC Bournemouth finished the 2018/19 Premier League campaign with an eight-goal thriller at Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace.
Having come from three goals down, the Cherries pulled it back to 3-2 with goals from Jefferson Lerma and Jordon Ibe.
However, Crystal Palace added a further two goals to their tally meaning that Joshua King’s tap in was nothing but a consolation.
Despite AFC Bournemouth going through a run of 9 defeats in 12 Premier League games between November and January, the defeat at Crystal Palace left AFC Bournemouth one point shy of equalling their best ever points tally in the top flight of English football.
Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson had been chasing an all-time Premier League record after setting a new record for a 38 game season for the most goals scored and assisted, but they couldn’t link up in this game to improve their stats.
Ryan Fraser was also surpassed by Chelsea’s Eden Hazard for playmaker of the season, assisting 15 goals to Fraser’s 14.
The Cherries 14th place finish saw AFC Bournemouth finish 6 points clear of Southampton and 9 points ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion to finish as the highest placed side on the south coast for a second consecutive season.
The 2019/20 campaign is set to be the Cherries fifth consecutive season in the Premier League.
AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe told afcb.co.uk…
“We have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture I think, the Premier League is so competitive and there are so many good teams.
“Of course progression is something we work for all the time and we always want to push new boundaries.
“But another season to come is important for the future, internally I am disappointed but we will keep pushing the team and work to come back better.
“As today showed we were a bit light on senior professionals and we’ve had almost another team of injured players, we’ve got through it though and done enough to stay in the league…”
Your say…
Jules wrote…
Shows how far we’ve come. It has been a very different season in the Premier League too, for many clubs, particularly the top 2 finish. It must be now viewed (if it wasn’t before) as the toughest league in the world. So to finish fairly comfortably, along with those incredible stats, and considering our share of injuries, it’s been a good season, as far as I am concerned. Yes, I would have liked for and indeed hoped for more points and a top 10 finish but it’s still very good. Some really exceptional performances show how good this team can be on their day. Hopefully, they’ll take a good look at themselves through the close season and try and think of ways to improve consistency. I’m sure we’ll be looking at a few more additions too. – Join the conversation, click here.
AFCB Vital sponsors of Cherry Bear and Supporters Travel
