CHRIS Mepham hailed teammate Ben Pearson after Cherries’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa, labelling the midfielder’s efforts as a “complete performance”.

Goals from Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore gave Cherries a first three points of the season, but the displays of Pearson in the midfield also caught the eye.

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27-year-old Pearson showed no nerves on his Premier League debut, harassing opponents and flying into challenges in a spirited display.

Mepham himself had a solid game at the back, with no player in the top-flight making more than his 15 clearances on Saturday.

Pearson was one of four Cherries that made their Prem debuts, alongside Jordan Zemura, Ryan Christie, and goalscorer Moore.

Speaking about his teammates’ debuts, the Welsh international told the Daily Echo: “I think you need to sort of play the game instead of the occasion.

“I think certainly for Ben - he's had his fair share of games in his career.

"Although it’s always a step up in quality and obviously a different league, you need to try and treat it like a normal game.

“Try not to be overwhelmed by the occasion and they looked really confident out there.

“Ben was getting stuck in, and you know what you get from him.

“Out of possession he was top drawer, on the ball he was very good.

“So it was a complete performance from him.

“And other lads looked like they've been at this level for ages.

“JZ looked very comfortable. Again, as a team we really dug in and it was a really good performance and a really good result.”

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