User:Alt4ies/2023–24 AFC Bournemouth season

= 2023–24 AFC Bournemouth season =

The 2023–24 season was the 122nd season of AFC Bournemouth's existence. It was the club's first campaign ever in the UEFA Champions League following a fourth place finish in the previous season. The club also competed in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.

On December 17 2023, the Cherries were given financial restrictions after an investigation found financial mismanagement from club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi had taken place. It found the club's chairman had broken UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations by enabling the club to spend considerably above their income. The club was sanctioned, restricting the income that Qatar Sports Investments were able to provide for the club. Some reports stated the club only had a budget of £174,000 to spend on transfers, contract renewals, and scout recruitment by January 2024. The sanctions were lifted at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Pre-season and friendlies
The Cherries announced their first pre-season friendly tournament on June 2, where the club would took in the European International Cup in Germany. The round-robin format of the competition saw the 8 teams in the competition each play 3 games, in which Bournemouth won all three of their games to win the cup ahead of second place RCD Mallorca. The club earned just over £1,650,000 as prize money from the tournament.

Premier League
On January 17 2024, Bournemouth played against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. After a wrongful penalty decision was given against the Cherries during the match, the FA followed up with an investigation, finding potential evidence that match fixing had taken place between the Rovers and referee Darren England. A jury came to a reasonable conclusion after being presented evidence in a trial. Darren England was banned from officiating in England for 6 months, ending on July 17 2024, allowing him to officiate for the 2024-25 season. Blackburn Rovers were fined £1,000,000. However, no action was taken against the result of the match as Bournemouth had won the match.

The Cherries spent large amounts of the season at the top of the table, being league leaders from the first game week all the way up to game week 22, where they were overtaken by Liverpool and Manchester City after a 3-3 draw with Leicester City.

The Boscombe side finished 3rd place in the table, where they had stayed since game week 22. Reportedly, £177,000,000 was given to the club for their league position, which also gave them automatic qualification to participate in the Champions League group stage next season. The club finished behind Liverpool and Manchester City, who finished 1st and 2nd respectively. Despite the latter side leading the table for the last 16 game weeks, it was Liverpool who snatched the Premier League title after they heavily defeated Bournemouth 6-1 as the Citizens were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal on the final game week.

League table
Source: Premier League

Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs

Results summary
Source: Premier League

FA Cup
The club joined the competition in the third round and were drawn at home to Peterborough United. They advanced into the quarter finals after beating the League One side and Blackpool in the third and fourth round. The Cherries played Leicester City in the round 6 of the competition, winning 4-5 at the King Power Stadium. On March 9, the draw for the semi finals was carried out at Leicester City's stadium. Bournemouth were drawn against the winner of the match between Liverpool and Chelsea. After Liverpool's 3-2 win over the London side, Bournemouth hosted the reds on 20 April 2024, losing 3-6 and exiting the competition.

EFL Cup
Bournemouth entered the competition in the third round and were drawn away to Swansea City. Bournemouth emerged victorious against League Two side Forest Green Rovers, and to Championship club Ipswich Town to take the club to the semi finals. AFC Bournemouth were drawn against Arsenal, and drew the match by a margin of 2-2. The second leg saw the Cherries advance in a 2-1 win. This took the club to the EFL Cup final for the first time in the club's history, against Sheffield United.

Final
The Cherries advanced past Arsenal 7-8 on aggregate to advance into the finals, against Sheffield United. Both clubs had reached their first ever EFL Cup final. Bournemouth comfortably defeated the Blades, beating them 4 goals to 2, to win their first ever major and domestic trophy. Captain of the match Philip Billing lifted the trophy at Wembley Stadium in front of the 86,349 spectators. The club reportedly earned £175,000 in prize money.

Group stage
The 2023–24 UEFA Champions League group stage draw took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 25 August 2023. The first group matches were played on 6 September, and they wrapped up in December. Bournemouth finished 2nd to Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages, advancing them into the round of 16.

Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 7 November 2022 at UEFA's headquarters in Nyons, with AFC Bournemouth being drawn against FC Barcelona - the former of which playing the first leg at home. The English side won both matches at Spotify Camp Nou and Dean Court to advance into the quarter finals.

Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals was held on 17 March 2024. The Boscombe side were drawn against Inter Milan in the quarter-finals, with the winner of that tie playing either Real Madrid or Ajax in the semi-finals. While the Cherries were set back by a deficit of two goals in Milan, they won the second leg by a margin of 5 goals to advance into the semi-finals.