How fitting it was, amid this season of ghouls and zombies, that it was one of James Trafford’s old ghosts that came back to haunt him.

No witches or vampires will give the Leeds goalkeeper a sleepless night quite like his own familiar-looking howler that cost his side the game on the south coast.

The visitors dominated Bournemouth for long periods of the first half with confident, flowing football and had even thought they had taken the lead when Dominic Calvert-Lewin bundled the ball into the net early on only for the goal to be ruled out for a handball. Leeds were firmly on top.

And then they took a goal-kick. Trafford didn’t take it but received it short and, instead of going long, tried to pass it out to Ao Tanaka only to play it straight to the lurking Justin Kluivert, who squared it to Evanlison for a tap-in.

It was almost identical to the goal Trafford conceded at the Etihad Stadium against Tottenham at the start of last season, on his second league start for Manchester City, when he - again - received a short goal-kick and passed it straight to the opposition. City signed Gianluigi Donnarumma 10 days later and Trafford’s City career was almost over.

The England keeper has been able to resurrect it at Leeds, and even came into the game with the best save percentage of any stopper in the Premier League this season, and marshaller of the second-best defence in the division behind only champions Arsenal.

In the build-up, legendary Leeds keeper Nigel Martyn remarked that his old club now has someone behind them who they can ‘trust to do his job’. Sadly, this time, when it mattered, they didn’t.

Trafford’s team-mates tried to keep rallying him with high-fives and pats on the back, and he kept Leeds in the game, with a fine save from Marcus Tavernier free-kick, and another effort late on from Junior Kroupi but the damage had been done. 

He could do little about Amine Adli’s finish that double Bournemouth’s lead in second-half stoppage time. The home supporters, who jeered him every time he touched the ball and proceeded to tell him he was ‘just a s*** Aaron Ramsdale’, made sure he didn’t forget it.

Cherries slay another giant 

Bournemouth have made such a habit of punching above their weight in recent years, that victories over traditional Premier League big boys no longer seem as remarkable as they once did. Running your club brilliantly, signing excellent players and developing them with superb coaches season after season after season will tend to normalise such success for a club of this size.

And yet the Cherries are no longer content to constrain their heroics to slaying mere domestic giants. For the fourth match in a row, and a sixth straight victory in all competitions, they put a former king of European champion to the sword. In the space of 10 days, they have dispatched AC Milan here on a famous night in the Europa League, then a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and another at the Vitality Stadium in the League Cup over Aston Villa, and now former European Cup winners Leeds.

Yes, they needed a bit of luck and a glaring mistake to get them ahead but, once they got in front, they rarely looked like letting it slip. Brazilian sensation Rayan also went close late on before substitute Adli wrapped it up late on after a stunning through ball from Kroupi.

Rose finding his feet 

What is even more impressive is that Bournemouth are doing it without Andoni Iraola at the helm, and under a manager in Marco Rose who was even feeling early grumblings of discontent from sections of the fanbase after failing to win any of their first six league games.

Now, it’s six wins in a row in all competitions. Sixteen goals scored, none conceded. Even for Bournemouth, who make the remarkable look normal, that’s quite something.

And not only that, they are doing it without influential midfielder Alex Scott, out with a hamstring injury, pulling the strings. When you have Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams keeping things ticking in the middle, with Justin Kluivert and Kroupi ahead of them, you barely even notice.