That, ladies and gentlemen, is not a headline anyone expected in November after Bournemouth failed to win any of their opening four Premier League matches this term. Indeed, the Cherries only domestic victory between August 23 and October 18 was a 4-0 thrashing of Lincoln City in the EFL Cup at the start of September.
Recently, however, Marco Rose’s men have been unstoppable, winning eight successive matches across all competitions. How, then, has club and manager turned things around?
Bournemouth’s Opening Weeks Trough…
The 5-1 defeat against Chelsea at the start of October was Bournemouth’s third Premier League loss of the campaign. While those defeats came against members of the ‘big six’, it meant Rose had failed to secure victory across any of his first six league games since taking over in the summer.
This was always going to be a transitional campaign following the departure of Andoni Iraola, but a potential relegation battle wasn’t even considered by the fans.
…To Riding the Crest of the Wave
European football was proving to be a welcome distraction. They opened their hard-earned UEFA Europa League campaign on the road with a gritty 2-1 victory over Spanish Copa del Rey champions Real Sociedad. One month later they hosted Strum Graz at the Vitality Stadium, cruising to a dominant 3-0 home win over the Austrians. The results offered more than just six points in UEL table, it offered hope that progress was being made.
Rose and his men haven’t looked back since, winning each of the next seven matches, conceding just twice in the process.
One of those was a quite remarkable 3-0 triumph over AC Milan. On paper, odds favored the seven-time European Cup winners over a squad who were close to playing Non-League football in 2008. But the underdog Cherries triumphed over I Rossoneri without even batting an eyelash.
Manchester United, Leeds and Ipswich were swept aside in the Premier League, while Aston Villa were knocked out of the EFL Cup during this winning run.
With the festive period fast approaching, Bournemouth occupy seventh in the table, just three points off the top-four and it is all thanks to big performances from some key players.
Rose is Driving Big Performances from his Players
Rather than one individual standing out and carrying the weight of the side, Bournemouth have players all over the pitch chipping in.
Evanilson became the first player for the club to score in five successive Premier League matches, while he has recorded five assists in the process this season too.
Another player contributing heavily up front is Marcus Tavernier. The winger scored against Man City in the opening league match of the campaign and has since netted another five goals across all competitions. He ranks in the top 1% when compared to his positional peers for both shots on target (14) and goals (5) in the top flight this season.
It isn’t just those in the final third who are making the difference. Centre-back James Hill has just received his first England call-up this week and it is thanks to his recent impressive form. The 24-year-old is another Bournemouth player ranked highly when compared to his peers in the Premier League, sitting in the top 1% for defensive contributions (115), duels won (71) and even big chances created (2).
No coincidence, then, that the Cherries have conceded just two goals in their previous eight matches.
Rose will head into the international break content with how his side have battled back from a poor start to haul themselves up the table. There is still a long way to go, but if Bournemouth continue this sort of form into the new year, they have a great chance of another top-eight finish.
And who knows, perhaps a trophy is on the horizon? Only time will tell.
