'They were always delaying' - Fulham boss Marco Silva addresses Bernd Leno pushing ball boy during Cottagers' heavy Premier League defeat to Bournemouth

Goals from Justin Kluivert, Dominic Solanke, and Luis Sinisterra on Boxing Day secured the Cherries their fourth-straight Premier League victory to climb to 10th in the table. It was a hugely disappointing afternoon for the outplayed Cottagers at Vitality Stadium and even when they were 2-0 down it appeared keeper Leno's patience was wearing thin. The German ran over to a ball boy and appeared to push him when trying to get the game back underway before taking a goal kick. Leno later apologised for his actions but manager Silva came to the former Arsenal stopper's aid and said the ball boys were essentially time wasting.

Silva told BBC Match of the Day: "I spoke with Bernd before I came off, I saw the moment. I don’t know if it was instruction or not, but the ball boys were always delaying. The game should be the same if one team is winning or not. The ball boys were always delaying, Bernd wanted to play quickly and he took the ball from the ball boy. He didn’t push him, it wasn’t strong enough and he apologised. He is a top professional."

The victory has taken Bournemouth above big-spending Chelsea and into the top half of the table. Andoni Iraola's side have now won seven of their last nine top-flight games as they have gone from relegation contenders to one of the division's form sides. Fulham, on the other hand, have lost three on the spin and are in 13th.

Bournemouth round off their successful 2023 with an away trip to Tottenham on New Year's Eve whereas Fulham host league-leaders Arsenal on the same date. After that, both teams are in FA Cup action, with the Cherries taking on QPR on January 6 and the Cottagers hosting Rotherham on January 5.