Bournemouth cruised into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup following a commanding 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth 3-0 Aston Villa: In-form visitors sink on the south coast
Amine Adli, Lewis Cook and Alvaro Rodriguez were on target as Bournemouth sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
Villa went into Wednesday's contest unbeaten in seven games, having won six of those, but they were no match for Marco Rose's in-form team, with goals from Amine Adli, Lewis Cook, and Alvaro Rodriguez doing the damage.
Bournemouth made a dream start through Adli, who capped off a superb team move involving a lovely combination between Marcus Tavernier and Julio Soler with a close-range finish into the roof of the net.
Ben Gannon-Doak came close to doubling the Cherries' lead 16 minutes in, taking a delightful touch before whipping a powerful shot on target that Marco Bizot tipped over the bar.
Bournemouth continued to threaten as Tavernier saw a bending effort bounce just wide of the left-hand post, before Adli rifled a half-volley high into the stands.
Villa returned from the break with plenty of intent, nearly levelling the scores through Ibrahim Mbaye, who caught Michele Di Gregorio wrong-footed but could not find the target.
But Bournemouth doubled their lead in fortuitous fashion in the 51st minute. Cook sent a cross into the box that Bizot completely misjudged, allowing the ball to beat him at his near post.
Unai Emery shuffled his cards on the hour mark with a slew of substitutions, though the damage had already been done, and Rodriguez put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, latching onto Tyler Adams' pass before drilling a tidy left-footed finish into the bottom corner.
Alysson spurned a late chance to grab a consolation goal, sending his header wide off Alejandro Garnacho's bending cross.
Five on the spin as Cherries revel in sweet victory
Bournemouth not only have a place in the last eight to celebrate. They have also ended a frustrating run against fellow Premier League opposition in the EFL Cup.
They had previously been eliminated in each of their last four EFL matches against fellow Premier League sides, but they have now defeated a fellow Premier League side in the EFL Cup for the first time since a 4-1 home win over Everton in the third round in 2022-23.
And they did so in style, with Adli setting the tone by breaking the deadlock after just six minutes and 17 seconds.
They just had too much attacking quality for a much-changed Villa, generating 2.71 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots (seven on target), compared to the visitors' 1.65 xG from 17 attempts (five on target).
Bournemouth's winning streak now stands at five matches across all competitions, a run that includes successive 3-0 victories over AC Milan, Manchester United, and now Villa.
