Bournemouth 2-0 Aston Villa: How worried should we be about Gerrard's villains?

Scott Parker won the battle for former England midfielders as his newly-promoted side Bournemouth enjoyed a dream return to the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa.

Goals either side of halftime from Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore earned the Cherries a deserved win at Vitality Stadium.

Gerrard, who played alongside Parker at Euro 2012, was frustrated for much of the afternoon and had plenty to ponder on the way home.

His expensively constructed side dominated possession in the south coast sun, but were toothless in attack.

Bournemouth were playing their 191st game at this level and the first without former longtime manager Eddie Howe in the dugout.

Frustrated by the lack of transfer activity this summer following promotion to Championship runners-up, current boss Parker claimed last week that his side were 'a long way from where we need to be' .

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Yet he soon had reason to be more optimistic when new signing Marcus Tavernier, one of four top debutants, helped open them in the second minute.

Colombia international Lerma scored the goal, forcefully sending a deflected left-footed shot from close range after the visitors made a mess clearing Tavernier's right corner.

Villa escaped relegation at the expense of Bournemouth in 2020 and also won on this ground in their opponents' first Premier League game in 2015.

With a first half as his pre-season target, Gerrard debuted summer signings Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara in Dorset, while former Cherries defender Tyrone Mings, who was stripped of the captaincy of Villa over the summer had to settle for a place on the bench alongside fellow England international Ollie Watkins and fitness Emiliano Buendia.

The opposing team monopolized the ball for much of the afternoon, with a frantic and, at times, temperamental open period.

Bournemouth's insistence on playing from the back led to a few nervous moments for the home support and former Cherries striker Danny Ings and midfielder Jacob Ramsey each threatened to equalize while testing Mark Travers.

On the other side, Dominic Solanke and Adam Smith came close to extending the home side's lead.

Gerrard responded to the half-time deficit by introducing Buendia in place of Ramsey, one of four players warned before the break by referee Peter Bankes.

Bournemouth began to drop deeper after the restart, inviting pressure and looking for a breakaway second.

Yet the three Cherries backs of Lerma, Chris Mepham and Lloyd Kelly remained rock solid and untested.

Villa's new France international Kamara provided a rare moment of anxiety with a dive drive from distance that saw Travers stretch hard and fly just wide, before Watkins was sent off instead of Ings.

Gerrard is under more pressure to deliver consistent results at Villa Park this campaign following some ups and downs since joining from Rangers in November and his changes have had little impact.

Substitute Buendia showed flashes of inspiration before hopes of salvaging a draw were dashed 10 minutes from time when towering striker Moore nodded expertly beyond Emiliano Martinez following a cross from Captain Kelly.

With Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool to come in the next three weeks, Parker will no doubt be delighted to get off to a winning start as he quickly turns to the transfer market.