Premier League: Bournemouth, Man United and the five teams to win from three goals down

Cherries were 3-0 down at halftime to Luton on Wednesday before staging a fightback to win 4-3

Antoine Semenyo scored Bournemouth's third and fourth goals against Luton to complete the comeback. Reuters
Powered by automated translation

Bournemouth staged a monumental fightback on Wednesday night, coming from three goals down at half time against Luton Town to win 4-3 at the Vitality Stadium.

Tahith Chong, Chiedozie Ogbene and Ross Barkley had given Luton a comfortable lead and set the visitors well on course for a vital victory to their hopes of avoiding relegation.

That scoreline would have lifted Luton above Nottingham Forest into 17th place but Bournemouth, who were booed off at half time were transformed after the interval.

Dominic Solanke struck immediately after the break and the hosts were level by the 65th minute thanks to goals by Illia Zabarnyi and Antoine Semenyo.

Luton were reeling and there was a sense of inevitability about Semenyo netting the winner in the 83rd minute.

The game was re-scheduled after the initial fixture was abandoned after 59 minutes in December when Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.

"It's unreal," Semenyo told the BBC. "It is an achievement of mine just playing in the Premier League so to get a winning goal for the team, I'm buzzing."

Bournemouth became just the fifth team in Premier League history to win a game having trailed by three goals. Here is a look at the other teams to previously achieve the feat.

Leeds 4-3 Derby (November 7, 1997)

The first instance took place in November 1997 when Dean Sturridge’s early brace and an Aljosa Asanovic penalty gave Jim Smith’s Derby a 3-0 lead after 33 minutes at Elland Road.

But Rod Wallace and Harry Kewell scored before half time for the home team to set up an absorbing second half.

Derby held on until the 82nd minute, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored from the penalty spot, and the Dutch striker then set up his fellow substitute Lee Bowyer for a last-minute winner.

West Ham 3-4 Wimbledon (September 9, 1998)

West Ham were in cruise control against Wimbledon when John Hartson’s seventh-minute opener was followed by two Ian Wright goals in 13 minutes as the hosts raced into a 3-0 lead at Upton Park.

Wimbledon began their fightback when Marcus Gayle’s header on the half-hour pulled one back for the visitors.

Joe Kinnear’s men then produced a stunning second-half display, with goals from Jason Euell, Gayle and Efan Ekoku to secure a dramatic victory.

Tottenham 3-5 Man Utd (September 29, 2001)

Glenn Hoddle’s Tottenham were in dreamland when Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege all struck before half time at White Hart Lane.

But Manchester United responded in the first minute of the second period through Andy Cole to kickstart their response. Laurent Blanc’s header and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s finish then pulled United level at 3-3.

From there, only one team was going to win the match as Juan Sebastian Veron fired United in front with 16 minutes left before David Beckham had the final say.

Wolves 4-3 Leicester (October 25, 2003)

Two goals from Les Ferdinand plus a Riccardo Scimeca effort put Leicester 3-0 up after 35 minutes at Molineux, but Wolves mounted a four-goal fightback in the second half to take all three points.

Colin Cameron started the recovery in the 52nd minute and added a second from the spot eight minutes later. Alex Rae levelled and Henri Camara registered a late winner.

Ultimately, the result made little difference to either club as both Wolves and Leicester were relegated from the Premier League, six points adrift of safety.

Updated: March 14, 2024, 5:29 AM