Lewis Grabban bagged a double as Bournemouth secured an opening-day victory in the Championship with a 2-1 win against 10-man Charlton Athletic at the Goldsands Stadium.
Despite the home advantage, it was Bournemouth who came under most pressure in the opening exchanges, with Addicks forward Marvin Sordell coming within inches of marking his debut with a goal by heading over from a corner.
Ten minutes would elapse before Cherries boss Eddie Howe would see his team create their first opportunity, but debutant Mohamad Coulibaly shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
However, the Cherries would not have long to wait to see their first goal of the new campaign, with striker Grabban heading home Harry Arter's cross on 26 minutes.
Arter, who enjoyed a two-year spell with the Addicks, came close to piling further misery on his former club four minutes later, but his long-range effort was well held by Charlton goalkeeper Ben Hamer.
Chris Powell's men restored parity three minutes after the restart through Yann Kermogrant, whose acrobatic volley proved too good for Ryan Allsop.
The Addicks were not level for long, though, as Grabban spun his marker on the edge of the area before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Hamer to grab his and his team's second of the afternoon.
The visitors came agonisingly close to getting back on level terms once more, with Cherries defender Elliot Ward producing a goal-line clearance to deny Bradley Pritchard an equaliser.
Things went from bad to worse for Pritchard, who was dismissed moments later for a dangerous challenge on Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser.
The Addicks pushed for an equaliser despite their numerical disadvantage throughout the six minutes of stoppage time, but the hosts held on and marked their return to England's second tier with a win.
Shane Callaghan
