Bournemouth 4 Middlesbrough 0: Boro sink towards relegation after Cherries thrashing

Middlesbrough's bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League took a further hit on Saturday after a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Bournemouth.

Boro, who have not won in 16 league games, had a nightmare opening 20 minutes in which they conceded two goals and had midfielder Gaston Ramirez sent off for a second booking.

Bournemouth, who ended a run of four league games without a win, were ahead after 96 seconds with Joshua King's 11th goal in 13 matches and two up when Benik Afobe punished more slack Boro defending from Charlie Daniels' through ball in the 16th minute.

The visitors, with Ramirez already booked for a dive in the Cherries' box, had the Uruguayan sent off after 20 minutes for a lunging tackle on winger Marc Pugh.

Pugh marked his 250th league game for Bournemouth with their third in the 65th and Daniels added the fourth five minutes later.

Additional reporting by Reuters.