The time when club officials from Madrid, Milan and Munich start scoping logistics for accommodation in the Bournemouth area is delayed for now. Beating Wolves could have taken Andoni Iraola’s team up into fourth but next season’s Champions League remains a dream some way from being realised.
Under a different kind of pressure – expectation – Bournemouth lost to an organised, muscular and determined Wolves, the talismanic Matheus Cunha scoring the winner. Even before Illia Zabarnyi’s disputed red card, the Bournemouth machine had shown defective signs, previous football from the gods deserting them. If officialdom took public blame, Wolves deserved credit. “It affects the game, absolutely,” said Iraola of his defender’s dismissal. “Physically it becomes difficult to keep the quality.”
