Bournemouth 2-2 Everton: Nathan Ake scores late equaliser as two see red at the Vitality

Bournemouth came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Everton at the Vitality, with both sides maintaining their unbeaten starts to the season despite being reduced to 10 men.

Everton forward Richarlison was the first to be shown a straight red card four minutes before half-time following a clash of heads in the area with Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith.

However, that did not affect the visitors, who went ahead through Theo Walcott's breakaway strike (56), before Adam Smith also saw red for hauling back the Everton goalscorer.

Marco Silva's team soon doubled their lead thanks to Michael Keane's header (66), only for the hosts to take a share of the spoils after goals in the final 15 minutes from Josh King - via the spot - and Nathan Ake.

The two sides started in confident fashion having both begun the season unbeaten, although it was Bournemouth who created the better openings.

Callum Wilson spurned the first after 16 minutes when stroking the ball over the bar with just Jordan Pickford to beat, before Ake mistimed a header with the goal gaping six minutes before the break.

Two minutes later, though, the visitors' task got a lot harder after a moment of recklessness from their £40m summer signing from Watford.

Adam Smith and Richarlison squared up to each other in the area, with both placing their foreheads against each other, before the Brazilian forward appeared to lean his into his opponents.

Referee Lee Probert immediately brandished the red card, with no action taken against Adam Smith, although it was Everton who actually opened the scoring with the first shot on target in the match.

Cenk Tosun released Walcott down the right and the forward's pace sent him clear of the Bournemouth back line, before drilling the ball past Asmir Begovic at his near post.

The contest really appeared to swing Everton's way just past the hour-mark after Adam Smith was dismissed for pulling Walcott back as the winger latched on to Pickford's brilliant long through ball.

Even more so when Keane - who later went to hospital with a head injury - headed in Sigurdsson's cross at the far post after Bournemouth were caught out as Everton took a quick free kick, only for the home team to score twice in the final quarter of an hour.

Bournemouth were given hope when Leighton Baines gave Wilson a nudge in the back, with King converting the penalty 15 minutes from time.

And just four minutes later Ake was on hand to stab home a rebound after Wilson's brilliant curling header from Jordon Ibe's right-wing corner had beaten Pickford, only to strike the post.

Opta stats

• Premier League matches between Everton and Bournemouth have seen 4.14 goals on average (29 goals in seven games); the highest average for a Premier League fixture to have been played on more than six occasions
• Since the start of 2017-18 season, Bournemouth have won a league-high 25 points from losing positions in the Premier League
• Michael Keane scored his first Premier League goal for Everton, in what was his 33rd appearance in the competition for the Toffees
• Joshua King has been directly involved 38 Premier League goals for Bournemouth (31 goals, seven assists); 14 more than any other player
• Richarlison's red card was the 91st that Everton have been given in Premier League history; more than any other team in the competition
• Bournemouth defender Adam Smith's red card was his first in the Premier League, in what was his 98th appearance in the competition

Managers

Eddie Howe: "Another comeback and we're delighted to achieve it because - certainly at 2-0 down and 10 v 10 - it looked very difficult just from the mental perspective of how the game had gone for us to that point.

"The players went again and once we got the goal to go 2-1, the whole game changed, the momentum of the game changed and we were the stronger team at the end."

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Marco Silva: "It is naïve, it is something Richarlison can't do. It is something for the boy to learn fast, but it is something we can see many, many times in a football match.

"Both players to put their heads against one another and with minimum contact or movement as well. But it is smoothing he cannot do."

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Man of the Match - Theo Walcott

The forward - who scored in consecutive top-flight appearances for the first time as an Everton player and the first time since April 2017 - was a constant threat to Bournemouth with his pace and trickery, as shown with the visitors' opening goal on the south coast.

And you can see the 29-year-old being a vital component in Marco Silva's forward line as the season progresses as he looks to stretch opposition defences on the counter.

What would VAR have changed?

The red cards shown to Richarlison and Adam Smith would both have remained even if VAR had been in operation, while Bournemouth's second-half penalty would also have stood.

What's next?

Bournemouth host League Two MK Dons in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, before facing a tough-looking trip to Chelsea next Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Everton entertain Rotherham in their League Cup second-round clash on Wednesday evening and then take on Huddersfield Town at Goodison Park a week today.

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