Manuel Benson and Anass Zaroury scored a brace each to help Burnley produce one of the high-scoring football scores of the weekend in the FA Cup. Ryan Christie soon pulled the hosts even after Manuel Benson gave Burnley an early lead, but Anass Zaroury scored twice in as many minutes shortly before halftime to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Dominic Solanke’s goal three minutes into the second half gave Bournemouth hope of rallying, but Benson’s second goal just before the hour mark gave Burnley a cushion they never seemed to relinquish. Following a six-match winning streak in the Championship, Vincent Kompany’s team is five points clear at the top of the standings after Burnley’s triumph.
When Johann Berg Gudmundsson intercepted Marcos Senesi’s poor pass in the sixth minute and threaded Benson in behind, the Clarets went ahead. For his ninth goal of the year, the right-sided winger deliberately set himself up before resoundingly defeating Mark Travers. However, another error allowed the Cherries to tie the score after 12 minutes. Josh Cullen, a midfielder for Burnley, mishandled a first-time ball at the edge of his own box, setting up Christie for an easy score. The Scotland international scored Bournemouth’s first goal in 393 minutes with a flawless finish; their previous goal came in a 3-0 victory over Everton just before the World Cup.
Then, left winger Zaroury displayed his cunning side with a beautiful cut-in and shot that served as a warning to his threat. The Moroccan attacker was given a tap-in by Josh Brownhill after a tardy Lewis Cook was chased off the ball by Zaroury and Ashley Barnes in the 39th minute. If it was simple, Zaroury’s second goal, which came four minutes later, was an exquisite piece of art. Before curling into the bottom corner, he skipped in from his touchline, played a one-two with Brownhill, then nutmegged Jack Stephens and Phillip Billing.
In the final seconds of the first half, Christie nearly brought Bournemouth within one, but Bailey Peacock-Farrell wonderfully stopped him. In response, Cherries manager O’Neill brought on captain Lloyd Kelly, Kieffer Moore, and Jack Stacey in a triple substitution at halftime. They had the necessary effect because three minutes into the second half, Christie threaded Solanke through following a rethink.
The striker’s initial attempt was stopped by Peacock-Farrell, but his rebounding header, which ended a five-match goalless streak, was perfect. Less than 10 minutes later, Burnley reclaimed a two-goal lead. Travers had prevented Zaroury from scoring his hat-trick, but after yet another defensive blunder, Benson secured his double. This time, Barnes gained control following Christie’s careless header, and Benson scored his second goal of the day after receiving the precise threaded pass from Barnes. In their previous five games, Bournemouth have given up 12 goals. Christie’s header was cleared off the line, and Kelly’s looping follow-up shot hit the post and bar as the game continued to be chaotic.
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