Bournemouth beat Sturm Graz 3-0 in Europa League
Bournemouth marked their first home European fixture with a 3-0 victory over Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday. Evanilson opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, before Rayan and Alvaro Rodriguez added goals in the second half to secure three points at the Vitality Stadium.
Evanilson put the hosts ahead by converting Adam Smith's cross with a header from 15 yards out. Sturm Graz threatened an equaliser after the break when Jurgen Heil struck the woodwork and Djorde Petrovic parried a follow-up from Jacob Hodl, but Rayan doubled Bournemouth's lead in the 76th minute after goalkeeper Daniil Khudyakov spilled the ball from a corner.
Bournemouth added a third in stoppage time when Jon Gorenc Stankovic fouled James Hill inside the penalty area, allowing summer signing Alvaro Rodriguez to chip the resulting penalty into the net. The result gives Bournemouth two wins from two matches in the Europa League league phase, moving them to fifth in the standings ahead of their home meeting with AC Milan.
- Bournemouth began their European campaign with a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad on 17 September 2026, with Justin Kluivert and Rayan scoring for Bournemouth.
- Bournemouth earned their place in the 2026/27 Europa League by finishing sixth in the Premier League the previous season under Andoni Iraola.