Bournemouth manager Marco Rose defended goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic following the team’s draw against Brentford, which extended the Cherries’ winless start to the Premier League season to four matches. Despite showing strong performance, Bournemouth surrendered the lead late as Brentford’s Kevin Schade scored twice in a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Bournemouth initially fell behind when Schade headed in the opening goal, but goals from Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier put the home side ahead. However, Schade capitalized on a misdirected pass from Petrovic, who had rushed his decision, to lob the ball into an empty net for his second of the afternoon. The late equalizer dampened the spirits of Bournemouth and manager Rose, who was celebrating his 50th birthday.

Rose acknowledged the mistake by Petrovic but declined to assign blame. "It’s part of the game, everyone is a human being, even our keeper," Rose said. "I’m never going to blame a player of mine. For me, it’s not about mistakes. For me, it’s about the reaction to mistakes." The manager highlighted Petrovic’s previous contributions, underlining the goalkeeper’s importance to the team despite the error.

Bournemouth had several other opportunities to secure victory, with defender Antonio Silva and winger Rayan missing key chances, while substitute Ben Gannon-Doak struck the post during stoppage time. Rose praised his team's overall performance, noting that they controlled the match and had significantly more shots on target than Brentford.

Brentford had only two shots on target but scored twice, maintaining their unbeaten record this season. Despite the draw, Brentford’s head coach Keith Andrews praised Schade’s progress, describing the young German forward as a key figure in all phases of the game. "He’s taken his game to a new level," Andrews said, highlighting Schade’s confidence and reliability both offensively and defensively.

Bournemouth have now dropped points from winning positions in all four of their Premier League games under Rose, after conceding late goals in previous matches against Manchester City, Everton, and Newcastle United. Rose remained upbeat despite the challenges, joking that this time the team was fortunate not to concede a late goal. Brentford, meanwhile, have collected six points from their first four league matches.