Sparta led, lost a man, and went down 3-1 to Bournemouth

Ebrima Singhateh put Sparta Praha ahead before Tobias Kvalvagnes Guddal was sent off, and Bournemouth scored three times to win 3-1 in the Europa League.

Sparta Praha were in front at Stadion Letná, and then they were not. Ebrima Singhateh gave the home side the lead in the 35th minute, and two minutes later Tobias Kvalvagnes Guddal was shown a red card, leaving Sparta to finish with ten men. Bournemouth scored three times after that and won 3-1.

Sparta were not passive once they were a man short. Their 12 shots were fewer than the 17 they usually take at home, but their expected goals figure was 1.97. Expected goals is a rough score for how good a side's chances were, and it sits well above the 1.35 Sparta average at home and the 1.46 typical for a team in this league. In other words, the chances they did create were better than usual, even with the ball mostly in Bournemouth's possession.

That possession figure was 42%, against the 50% Sparta usually keep at home. Bournemouth had 58%, which is close to their away average of 57.3%, so the amount of the ball was ordinary for them. What was not ordinary was the number of shots they fired: 20, against their usual 18.3, with 15 taken from inside the box and nine of them on target.

Bournemouth's chances were not sharper than usual, though. Their expected goals of 2.11 was well below the 2.95 they average away from home, which suggests the shots were more numerous than they were dangerous. Lewis Cook's penalty was missed in the 30th minute, and the goals came later anyway: Tyler Adams equalised in the 57th minute, rated 8.2 for his display, and Francisco Evanilson, rated 8.0, set up Rayan's goal in stoppage time after Ryan Christie had laid on his own.

Sparta's defence was stretched further than usual. Their expected goals conceded at home is usually 1.66, and Bournemouth's 2.11 comes on top of that. Sparta conceded three goals, when they usually concede one at home, and their goalkeeper Jakub Surovčík made six saves, a reminder of how much work he had to do once the numbers were against his side.

Bournemouth have now won each of their last six results, and none of those matches ended with them conceding a goal. Sparta had a sharper home run before this kick-off, but the red card changed the picture. The result puts Bournemouth fourth with nine points from three matches, while Sparta, on four points, sit 16th.

Player of the matchE. Singhateh1 goal8.2

T. Adams1 goal8.2

Evanilson1 goal · 1 assist8.0

J. Surovčík1 assist7.5