Bournemouth rout AC Milan 3-0 at Vitality Stadium in Europa League on Thursday
Bournemouth beat AC Milan 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium in the Europa League on Thursday, with Justin Kluivert opening the scoring in a notable night for the Cherries.
The victory came in only Bournemouth's third-ever European match and followed earlier group wins over Real Sociedad and Sturm Graz. Justin Kluivert's opener carried added intrigue because his father, Patrick, scored the winning goal for Ajax against Milan 31 years earlier. Having avoided near-liquidation in 2008, the club's rise featured in midfielder Ryan Christie's reaction: "It's mega. In terms of the story of the club it's ridiculous. Someone told me today, 15 years ago today we were 17th in League One, so it's pretty incredible," Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie told TNT Sports. "So many of these fans have been here for this journey so to have nights like this and win as well is special."
The match swung decisively after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off after 27 minutes, an event the report says effectively ended the contest, although Bournemouth had been the stronger side before the dismissal. The hosts started with two English players while Milan's starting XI included three English players. Despite contrasting early-season league form — Bournemouth have taken six points from seven league matches while Milan sit fourth in Serie A — Bournemouth defeated a team considered experienced at European level.
All three teams Bournemouth have beaten in this Europa League campaign — Real Sociedad, Sturm Graz and AC Milan — have taken part in the Champions League within the past three years. The result adds to a week in which English clubs largely succeeded in continental competition: Premier League sides played nine European games this week and lost only once. Across the three UEFA competitions so far this season, Premier League clubs have lost four of 26 matches, with Manchester United accounting for two of those defeats.
Broader trends cited in the report underline Premier League strength in secondary European tournaments: since the Conference League began five seasons ago no league has won all three UEFA competitions in a single season, but in three seasons Premier League clubs have claimed two of the trophies. Over the past two seasons, Premier League teams have contested 21 knockout ties against continental opposition in the Europa League and Conference League and won all 21, with the only knockout losses coming against fellow English clubs.
Financial indicators cited include 15 of last season's 20 Premier League clubs appearing in Deloitte's 2026 Money List top 30 and Premier League clubs receiving more than £1.37bn per season in television rights — a figure the report states La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 could only match combined. Brighton are described as the richest club in this season's Conference League, while Bournemouth and Crystal Palace featured in last season's top 30. The report also lists recent continental finals: Aston Villa beat Freiburg in last season's Europa League final with revenue more than double Freiburg's, Crystal Palace won the Conference League with revenue almost four times that of Rayo Vallecano, Tottenham beat Manchester United in the 2025 Europa League final despite finishing 17th and 15th respectively in the Premier League that season, and West Ham finished 14th in 2022-23 while winning the Conference League.
The summer transfer market is cited as further evidence of Premier League financial muscle, with top-flight clubs spending a record £3.49bn and 14 of the 20 most expensive transfers going to English clubs. "With the exception of some of the global brands within football, and I think you'd look at Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich, the Premier League can outspend anyone and everyone," football finance expert Kieran Maguire said in August. "A significant proportion of overseas players are now choosing to play in England than elsewhere in Europe because of the wages on offer." Yet the report contrasts that dominance in secondary competitions with the Champions League, noting only Manchester City have lifted that trophy in the past five years and that over the past two campaigns eight of nine English teams were knocked out by one of the Deloitte Money League's big four, according to the January 2026 report; Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle and Liverpool were eliminated by an aggregate score of 25-6 last season, and no English club featured in Deloitte's top four, which was led by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain, three of which have won the Champions League five times between them in the last seven years. Arsenal lost last season's final on penalties and Manchester City won in 2023.
Come May, it could well be Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace or Sunderland leading the English charge in Europe.
