Scotland internationals pivotal as EPL side take historic Europa League win.
Scotland international Ben Gannon-Doak has been hailed as a “special player” after his stunning display in AFC Bournemouth’s historic 3-0 Europa League win over AC Milan on Thursday night.
Gannon-Doak, 20, made just his third start of the season for the Cherries as goals from Julian Kluivert, Marcus Tavernier and Amine Adle helped the home side seal one of the most remarkable results in their history against AC Milan, who had goalkeeper Mike Maignan sent off in the first half.
Signed from Liverpool for a fee of £25million in September 2025, the youngster was ruled out for the majority of the campaign after suffering a major hamstring injury in Scotland's dramatic 4-2 World Cup qualifying win over Denmark last November, with the ex-Celtic academy only making just nine substitute appearances in the English Premier League last season.
However, after making his first start for the club in a 4-0 Carabao Cup win over Lincoln City last month, his influence has grown week by week. Named man of the match for the second Europa League match in succession, both he and Scotland international teammate Ryan Christie played pivotal roles in the famous win on the south coast.
A constant threat to the AC Milan defence, Gannon-Doak’s blocked shot won the corner which led to the penalty that put Bournemouth into the lead after just eight minutes, while he also won the free-kick that led to Adli’s clinching third. Terrorising the Italian’s backline, the youngster made four successful dribbles in the game and was fouled five times.
Meanwhile, former Celtic midfielder Christie also put on a sterling performance alongside United States international Tyler Adams in the centre of the park. Ending the game with a 93 per cent passing accuracy, the 31-year-old almost bagged a goal himself, testing Maignan early with a powerful drive from the edge of the box.
After the game, Bournemouth manager Marco Rose hailed Gannon-Doak as a “special player” after another dazzling display on the flanks, adding: “It was a big night for us,” said Rose. “I'm quite happy for the club, for our fans especially, and really proud of my lads. The way they did it today was just brilliant from the first minute until the last minute. Yeah, we played a really good game. Even with 11 against 11 we started well," he said.
"We put the pressure on them, we won balls, we created the chance. We got one penalty out of a big chance, a header from Hilly [James Hill]. And then the red card, of course, it makes something with the game. We are one player more. Sometimes you get in trouble in this kind of situation, but like on Sunday [vs Sunderland] we did it with one player more really, really well.”
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