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Losing three of your four starting defenders and your goalkeeper in the same summer would send most mid-table clubs spiralling. For Bournemouth, it’s somehow become the launchpad for one of the most impressive starts in the Premier League. They sit third after eight games – not bad for a side that sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool and Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain in deals worth a combined £150m, while Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan from Chelsea came to an end.
The mastermind behind the success, Andoni Iraola, working with the Premier League’s 16th lowest wage bill, has produced nothing short of a miracle at Bournemouth. It is easy to forget that there were question marks over his arrival in the summer of 2023. Nine games without a win had Bournemouth fans glancing nervously at the table, and the doubts peaked when Gary O’Neil, the man he had replaced, returned to the Vitality with Wolves and left with a 2-1 win. “Nice to see some friendly faces,” O’Neil joked in the press room afterwards.
But, after losing to his predecessor, Iraola started to build something impressive. He has delivered club-record points totals in each of his two seasons in charge (48 in 2023-24 and 56 last season). And, despite losing the backbone of his side in the summer, Bournemouth are on course to raise that bar once again this season.
In truth, not much has changed since their summer departures. Iraola has stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation, high intensity and high-pressing tactics that yielded such great results last season. Bournemouth remain the best out-of-possession team in the league. Last season they ranked first for PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action), goals from high turnovers (10), and ball recoveries per 90 minutes (47.92). This season, they once again rank top in PPDA and ball recoveries per 90 (44.9), and they have the second most high turnovers (62).
Their success is in part due to the way their new signings have settled so seamlessly; left-back Adrien Truffert, centre-back Bafodé Diakité and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic look as if they have been playing under Iraola for years. Their recruitment was clever; simply put, they signed like-for-like replacements.
Truffert, like Kerkez, is an athletic, dynamic, and creative full-back – in the Premier League he ranks 19th for progressive passes, 20th for progressive carries and 26th for distance covered – all stats that Kerkez ranked similarly in last season. Diakité, like Huijsen and Zabarnyi, is equipped to deal with opposing teams attempting to play out of Bournemouth’s press with a long ball. He ranked fifth in Ligue 1 last season for percentage of aerial duels won (72.6%) and is excellent at anticipating and stepping out to challenge forwards coming deep to receive the ball, a key trait in Iraola’s aggressive defensive system. Marcos Senesi, signed a few years ago from Feyenoord, has also settled into the centre-back spot nicely too. Players know their roles and Iraola’s tactical vision, which minimises disruption from the new signings.
Not much has changed in the way Bournemouth attack either; they remain one of the best sides in the league when it comes to transitions. Their attacking style is built on relentless tempo, verticality and precision. They waste little time in possession, averaging only 8.53 seconds per sequence (the sixth fastest in the league) and 3.26 passes per move (fifth lowest), and have the most goals from direct attacks (four). These numbers are not radically different from last season, when they had the second lowest average passes per sequence and moved the ball upfield at the second fastest rate.
Iraola’s side have adapted quickly to the changes in personnel and built on the groundwork laid in previous seasons. The biggest difference from last season has been individual form. Few players in the Premier League are performing as well as Antoine Semenyo, who has either scored or set up nine of their 14 goals this season. Only Erling Haaland has scored more goals than Semenyo in the league.
He is Iraola’s dream. He is the player Bournemouth look to first when they regain possession as they use his rapid, intelligent runs to torment defences. His ability to beat defenders one-on-one (fifth-most successful take-ons) and hold off challenges (56 duels won) make him a constant threat in transition, while his two-footed finishing (three goals with each foot this season) makes him impossible to predict. Beyond goals, he ranks among the league’s best for goal-creating and shot-creating actions, reflecting how vital he has become as both a finisher and creator in Iraola’s high-tempo system.
Bournemouth might have lost three quarters of their defence and a goalkeeper, but they haven’t missed a beat. When most expected Iraola to be forced into a rebuild, shrewd recruitment, clearly defined roles, tactical clarity and individual excellence have instead allowed Bournemouth to evolve, remaining one of the Premier League’s most relentless pressing and most dangerous transitioning sides.
This is an article by WhoScored
