Bournemouth have returned to the top of the Championship with a 3-0 win over promotion rivals Middlesbrough at Dean Court this afternoon.

The home side immediately put Middlesbrough under pressure as Yann Kermorgant went for goal from a free kick, but Dimitrios Konstantopoulos did just enough to keep it out.

Kermorgant was on the scoresheet shortly after though as Bournemouth were awarded a spot kick when Tomas Kalas pulled down Callum Wilson, leaving the striker to smash the ball in from the penalty spot.

The league leaders continued to look the more dangerous as the first half progressed, but Konstantopoulos pulled off saves to deny Kermorgant a second, as well as stopping a Matt Ritchie strike.

Bournemouth needed just a couple of minutes to double their advantage in the second half as Harry Arter blasted the ball in, hitting it on the turn to pick out the top corner.

The home side could have added a third just after the hour mark when Ritchie was picked out with a pull-back, but he rushed his shot and fired the ball high.

Kike thought that he had given Middlebrough hope of a comeback with just over 20 minutes to go as he headed the ball in, but the assistant referee spotted that the winger was offside.

The hosts had a chance to put the match beyond doubt just a few minutes later as Boro gave away a second penalty when Albert Adomah appeared to catch Arter, leaving Brett Pitman to coolly convert.

Bournemouth continued to push for a fourth in the final moments of the match, with Pitmann almost clinching a brace when he tried to curl the ball in, but it went just wide of the mark.

Patrick Bamford almost pulled one back for the visitors in the final moments when he tried to blast it in from a free kick, but it did not quite dip enough.

The result lifts Bournemouth a point clear of Watford, while Boro remain third.