AFC Bournemouth climbed to second place in the Premier League table following a routine 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
First-half goals from Marcus Tavernier and Eli Kroupi proved the difference at the Vitality Stadium, where Forest boss Sean Dyche suffered defeat in his first league game in charge.
Tavernier broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with the first goal to be scored directly from a corner in the Premier League this season.
The in-form Kroupi then found the net for a third successive game in which he has featured, with his long-range effort eventually proving enough to put the game beyond a lacklustre Forest.
Following Manchester City’s defeat at Aston Villa, the Cherries leapfrogged Pep Guardiola’s side to second place with 18 points, while Forest remain in 18th place on five points.
How the match unfolded
Bournemouth quickly asserted their authority on proceedings, with Tavernier's low drive calling Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels into action after just two minutes.
The hosts eventually got their goal in bizarre fashion on 25 minutes. Fortunate to be awarded a corner after the final contact came off Tavernier, the winger's inswinging corner looped over Sels and straight into the far corner of the net.
Bournemouth doubled their lead five minutes before half-time. Kroupi capitalised on a timely advantage played by referee Sam Barrott, driving at the Forest defence before drilling past Sels from 25 yards out.
Dyche shuffled his pack at the break, making three substitutions in a bid to reignite the visitors. Yet, they had to wait until the 79th minute to truly threaten the Bournemouth goal, with Morgan Gibbs-White’s curling strike pushed away by Djordje Petrovic.
That was the closest Forest came to finding a route back into the contest, as the Cherries comfortably held out for all three points.
Buoyant Bournemouth continue to fly high
With 18 points from their opening nine matches, Bournemouth are enjoying their best-ever start to a Premier League season and remain within four points of leaders Arsenal.
Unbeaten since losing to reigning champions Liverpool on the opening day, the confidence flowing through Andoni Iraola's side was evident as they quickly took control of the contest.
It only seemed like a matter of time until the breakthrough arrived, and it came courtesy of the Premier League's first goal scored directly from a corner since Matheus Cunha's "Olimpico" for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Manchester United last December.
Kroupi then gave the hosts breathing space, continuing his impressive streak with a superb strike from distance.
Bournemouth could not maintain that attacking threat in the second half but did a brilliant job at nursing their advantage and eventually securing three more points.
The Cherries have back-to-back away games against Man City and Villa to come, and they will be desperate to continue their momentum before the next international break.
Dyche denied winning Premier League return
Forest are already on their third permanent manager of the season, the earliest a side has had so many in Premier League history.
Dyche, who made a winning start against Porto in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, was aiming to become the first Forest head coach to win his first two matches in charge since Philippe Montanier in August 2016.
However, Dyche's new side were soon on the back foot and were eventually broken down following a string of Bournemouth attacks.
Neco Williams' fierce drive that was beaten away by Petrovic suggested a positive response by the visitors. Yet, they went into the break two goals behind, with Sels helpless to deny Kroupi's wonderful long-range strike.
Forest did improve after the break, aided by Dyche’s triple change at half-time. However, they were lacking a cutting edge in the final third, with their four shots on target yielding an xG of just 0.35.
Dyche, whose last Premier League game was also at Vitality Stadium when managing Everton in January, will welcome the prospect of a home double-header against Man Utd and Leeds United, with the opportunity to potentially build some positive momentum heading into the international break.
Club reports
What the managers said
Sean Dyche: "We were up against a team who are number one in the Premier League for physicality – and they showed it. I don’t think we can [match that] yet].
"[The players] have been excellent, absorbing all the information, but we were miles off in the first half. There’s a lot of work to be done. I didn’t come here naively – the league table does tell a story."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Bournemouth's tally of 18 points (P9 W5 D3 L1) after nine league matches is their most ever at this stage of a top-flight season, surpassing the 17 points they picked up in 2018/19 under Eddie Howe (P9 W5 D2 L2).
Eli Kroupi scored his fourth goal of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, with the Frenchman netting in each of his last three league games. Across Europe’s top five leagues, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun (5) is the only teenager to net more league goals than 19-year-old Kroupi this season.
Forest have now gone 448 minutes of Premier League action without a goal, since Neco Williams netted after two minutes against Burnley at the end of September. It's also the first time since a run of five matches in 1994/95 that Forest have gone four consecutive Premier League matches without a goal since.
In Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest, 16.8 per cent of their pass attempts this afternoon were long, their highest long-pass average in a league game this season. Forest’s long-pass average in the competition this season prior to today was 8.8 per cent.