Bournemouth took a giant step towards Premier League survival with a 4-1 thumping of fellow relegation candidates Leeds United at the Vitality Stadium.
A quickfire brace from Jefferson Lerma and swift reply from Patrick Bamford had the tie delicately poised at the break, but the Cherries came out all guns blazing in the second period and added further strikes through Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo to condemn the Whites to another chastening defeat.
It took just four minutes for the first dose of controversy at the Vitality Stadium, as referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot after Bamford's effort struck the arm of Ryan Christie.
However, upon a VAR review, the penalty decision was rescinded, with Christie shown to have handled the ball just outside the area in an early let-off for Gary O'Neil's side - Neto saved from Marc Roca from the subsequent free kick.
The Whites continued to adopt a gung-ho approach in the early exchanges, but they were caught out in the 20th minute and hit with a Lerma-sized sucker punch.
Solanke advanced to the byline and cut back for Philip Billing, whose close-range effort was blocked by Liam Cooper, but the ball fell for Lerma to curl a stunning strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.
There was little that Illan Meslier could do, but the Leeds number one - whose qualities have been called into question in recent weeks - was culpable for the Colombian's second, which arrived just four minutes after his first.
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The Frenchman came for a corner but only succeeded in flapping the ball straight at the feet of Lerma, who duly accepted the gift and found the roof of the net with a thunderous finish.
However, as proven by the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline for Bournemouth, and Leeds cut the deficit in half in the 32nd minute, as Bamford ghosted in to nod home from Wilfried Gnonto's inswinging cross.
There would be no Cherries capitulation this time around, though, as Solanke restored the hosts' two-goal lead in the 63rd minute with a tidy finish from Dango Ouattara's cutback.
Futile efforts from Leeds to claw their way back into the game were quelled by the hosts, who put the result beyond any doubt in the first minute of added time as Semenyo netted his maiden Premier League goal through the weak grasp of Meslier.
O'Neil's side have risen above Wolverhampton Wanderers into 13th place, and they boast a 10-point lead over the relegation spots with just four games left to play, whereas Leeds remain 16th and just one point clear of the dotted line.
Bournemouth now have a full week to recover before they host Chelsea at the Vitality next Saturday, while Javi Gracia's crop take on the unenviable task of meeting Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in six days' time.
Ben Knapton
