Dream night for Bournemouth - win over Milan a sign of Premier League power

Bournemouth's rise from near-liquidation to European giant-killers continued on Thursday night, as the Cherries swept aside 10-man AC Milan in the Europa League in what ranks among the greatest nights in the club's history.

The south-coast club, who were almost out of business in 2008, beat the seven-time continental champions at Vitality Stadium to extend a European run that already includes wins over Real Sociedad and Sturm Graz. Justin Kluivert opened the scoring and Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off after 27 minutes, though Bournemouth were by far the better side even before the red card.

Midfielder Ryan Christie called the result "mega", telling TNT Sports that nights like this were "ridiculous" given the club's journey. The win came despite Bournemouth taking just six points from seven league games, while Milan sit fourth in Serie A.

The result is part of a wider pattern. English clubs played nine games in Europe this week and lost just once, and over the past two seasons Premier League sides have lost only two of 21 knockout ties against continental opposition, both to other English teams.

The money explains much of it: 15 of last season's 20 Premier League clubs feature in the top 30 of Deloitte's 2026 Money List, and the league earns more than £1.37bn per season in television rights, a figure its European rivals cannot match.