Stoke City vs Bournemouth match report: Late strike by Mame Biram Diouf keeps three points in the Potteries

Stoke City 2 Bournemouth 1

Jon Walters and Mame Biram Diouf both notched for the home side (Getty Images)

Stoke belatedly registered their first win of the season, while promoted Bournemouth’s prospects suffered a major blow as top-scorer Callum Wilson joined summer signings Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings in the treatment room. He faces a long absence with knee-ligament damage.

Wilson, who hit 20 goals in the Championship last season and already has five in the top flight, was injured in a ninth-minute challenge by Stoke’s Philipp Wollscheid, who could not be blamed for what happened.

The 23-year-old former England Under-21 striker attempted to continue after lengthy treatment on the field but collapsed in pain as soon as he tried to run.

“We won’t know until he is properly assessed but his knee is in a brace and he is on crutches, so it looks like it could be a serious knee injury,” Cherries manager Eddie Howe said. “To have three key players suffer similar injuries is unbelievable luck.”

Dan Gosling celebrates his equaliser (Getty Images)

Stoke went ahead in the 32nd minute when the ever-dangerous Marko Arnautovic drove into the penalty area on the left, powered past full-back Simon Francis and poked the ball through Steve Cook’s legs to set up Jonathan Walters for a tap-in.

Arnautovic almost doubled the lead just before half-time, shooting wide on the end of a breakaway move he started at the edge of his own penalty area.

After Stoke had lost Xherdan Shaqiri to a hamstring injury, Bournemouth found a way back into the game and equalised on 76 minutes when Dan Gosling fired in via a deflection and a post.

However, just as it seemed Stoke would be frustrated again, Glen Johnson’s excellent early cross enabled substitute Mame Biram Diouf to score with a brave stooping header.