Bournemouth marked their first European home fixture with a landmark 3-0 victory over Sturm Graz in the Europa League, a result that offered head coach Marco Rose some much-needed relief amid a difficult start to the Premier League season.

The Vitality Stadium took on a festive atmosphere for the occasion, with music from Elvis Presley and Andy Williams played over the public address system and a banner in the Steve Fletcher stand reading "Minus 17 to European dreams" — a nod to the club's rise from the depths of the Football League to continental competition.

Evanilson opened the scoring in the first half, rising to meet a cross from captain Adam Smith with a looping header that found the top corner for his first European goal. It was Smith's second assist of the match after he had also created the game's first clear chance, though Marcus Tavernier failed to convert.

Sturm Graz, who sit fourth in the Austrian Bundesliga, set up defensively for much of the contest, often deploying five at the back to frustrate Bournemouth's attack. The hosts briefly thought they had doubled their lead when the ball struck the net following a corner, but it was ruled out after replays showed it had come off Bafode Diakité's arm rather than being a genuine own goal. Tavernier also rattled the outside of the post before the break.

Graz grew into the match after the interval and believed they had won a penalty, but Belmin Beganovic was instead shown a yellow card for diving. The visitors continued to threaten through Simon Seidl, who fired wide, and Jürgen Heil, who struck the post. Goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic was called into action with a sharp reflex save to deny Jacob-Peter Hödl from the rebound.

With the game still finely poised, Rose made a triple substitution in the 70th minute, introducing Rayan, Justin Kluivert and Ryan Christie to shore up the midfield and add attacking impetus. The changes paid off almost immediately. Six minutes after coming on, Rayan doubled Bournemouth's advantage with a well-struck drive that squeezed through a crowd of players and beat goalkeeper Daniil Khudyakov, who had also failed to deal cleanly with a corner moments earlier.

Álvaro Rodríguez, who had earlier misjudged a cross from Ben Gannon-Doak, completed the scoring in stoppage time from the penalty spot after Jon Gorenc Stankovic was penalized for handball. It was the 22-year-old's first goal for the club since his summer arrival.

The win follows Bournemouth's surprise victory away at Real Sociedad earlier in the competition, giving them a strong foundation in the Europa League despite struggles domestically, where they remain without a Premier League win this season following a heavy 5-1 defeat to Chelsea.

"A long time coming," said Smith after the match. "The fans were up for it, the players were up for it." He also praised the impact of his teammates coming off the bench, including Rayan's decisive contribution.

Rose, who rotated his squad with one eye on Sunday's Premier League fixture against Sunderland, expressed confidence in his group despite the team's inconsistent domestic form. "I believe in this team and know they are always confident despite a difficult situation," he said. "If we stick together and play like this and we have our fans then we are hard to play and it's hard to beat us. That's what we should take into the next game."

Graz coach Fabio Ingolitsch, who previously worked under Rose, acknowledged the gulf in resources between the two sides, noting that Bournemouth possess the highest market value of any club in this season's Europa League.

Bournemouth will look to continue their European momentum when they host Milan in their next continental fixture, a game set to further showcase the club's remarkable transformation under owner Bill Foley.

Based on reporting from The Guardian.