Bournemouth: Incredible Stats Show how Andoni Iraola Has Tuned His Side’s Fortunes Around

• Bournemouth embarrassed Manchester United with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford
• The Cherries were genuine relegation candidates as recently as October 2023
• But their last five games have seen the club turn the corner as they now sit in 13th place

If you asked any knowledgeable football fan who were the favourites to get relegated back in October, Bournemouth would surely be in the conversation.

The Cherries were languishing in the relegation places, and pressure was mounting on Andoni Iraola to turn things around for his side before the end of the year.

Typically, managers in the Premier League tend to get sacked as we approach the winter transfer window as clubs tend to want to make changes for the second half of the campaign if the team is underperforming.

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For Iraola, however, he might not need to worry about his job as he may have just pulled one of the greatest escapes, with the Premier League barely halfway in.

Bournemouth’s latest win, a 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford, was just another emphatic performance from a team that has been in frightening form since over the last month.

As reported by BBC, goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi were enough to condemn Erik ten Hag’s side to defeat while simultaneously propelling The Cherries to 13th on the log.

After the game, Solanke exuded confidence by declaring his team could beat anyone in the division at this point, and he could be right based on recent results.

"I think we've just started clicking. At the beginning [under Andoni Iraola] we were still trying to find our feet with a new philosophy. Solanke said.

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Bournemouth’s last 5 games

After a torrid spell that saw them get beaten six times in seven league matches, Bournemouth have now turned their fortunes around quite impressively.

It all started on November 11, when they put up a solid performance to see off Newcastle United 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium. This was followed up by a 3-1 win against fellow strugglers Sheffield United.

Against a resurgent Aston Villa side on December 3, Andoni Iraola’s side were unlucky not to collect all three points as Ollie Watkins’ 90th-minuteth strike ensured the teams shared the spoils in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

But they made amends in their midweek fixture by beating Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace 2-0 away.

The win against United was their second away win on the spin, ensuring the Cherries have 13 points out of the last 15 available.

Iraola will hope his side continue their impressive form when they take on Luton Town on Saturday, December 16.

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Ten Hag’s demeanor after Bournemouth defeat

Sports Brief also reported on Erik ten Hag’s gloomy demeanour after United’s defeat to Bournemouth.

After the full-time whistle, ten Hag was caught on camera looking on helplessly following the defeat.

The video shared by @StretfordPaddck on X showed the Dutchman watching in disbelief for a couple of seconds as everyone made their way out of the standing.