Day 15: Bournemouth

Everyday through December we have been taking a look at a Premier League club and rating their season so far. Today, we move into our predicted top 6 and look at Bournemouth as we continue our Premier League Christmas Countdown.

Bournemouth have been very good so far this season, despite a slow start, but no one could have predicted this, even with Andoni Iraola earning the Cherries their highest Premier League points total last year. They are currently in sixth in the league, just three points off the top four, but also three points off 13th place Manchester United.

The Comeback Kings

Bournemouth’s season started with two solid points, two 1-1 draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle. When they left the City Ground with just a point, Bournemouth fans were probably disappointed, but now looking at how Forest are doing, probably saw that as a remarkable result.

The Newcastle draw was more frustrating as they had a goal incorrectly ruled out for handball. Dango Ouattara scored from a corner in the last minute only for VAR to intervene and say that it hit his arm. The ball struck his shoulder and a later review came to the conclusion that the decision was a wrong one, but Bournemouth still only got one point from that match.

🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 GOAL | Everton 2-3 Bournemouth | Sinisterra

BOURNEMOUTH HAVE TAKEN THE LEAD !!!!!! THEY HAVE COMPLETED THE COMEBACK !!!!!!!!https://t.co/K0jKpCbezd
— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) August 31, 2024

Their first win came at the end of the first month, in dramatic fashion. They were 2-0 down away at Everton, with just three minutes of normal time left to play, and ended up winning 3-2. In the last two seasons, Bournemouth have been awarded the ‘Premier League’s Most Improbable Comeback’ award, and it seems inevitable that they’ll get the third this year.

A Tough Period

Bournemouth’s first win of the season was immediately followed by their first loss, as they hosted Chlesea at the Vitality and lost 1-0. They then had to travel to Anfield to play against Liverpool and lost that match too.

It looked as if Bournemouth were spiraling, as they had failed to score in either of their last two games, and new striker Evanilson was yet to get off the mark for the season. However Southampton came to the Vitality next and were soundly beaten 3-1. Evanilson opened the scoring for the Cherries and a dominant first half display was enough to see them through to the three points. They travelled to Leicester for their last game before the October international break in high spirits, but despite having numerous chances, failed to score, losing 1-0.

Giant Killers

The rest of Bournemouth’s October fixtures looked daunting, as they had to face Arsenal at home and Aston Villa away. Many fans had been looking at the Leicester match as one that they needed to get points in because the period after that game was awful.

Arsenal were unbeaten when they visited the Vitality, but after an incredible 90 minutes from the hosts, that was no longer the case. William Saliba was sent off in the first half and Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert scored in the second to give Bournemouth a well deserved 2-0 win over the Gunners.

𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐: Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie gets his first Premier League goal v Leicester

𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: Ryan Christie gets his second Premier League goal for Bournemouth v Arsenal

It’s been a long 742 days in the making

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🍒 pic.twitter.com/OYdP9fuBxv
— Everything Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@AboutScotlandd) October 19, 2024

Next was a trip to Aston Villa and the hosts dominated for much of the game without finding the back of the net. Bournemouth’s second choice goalkeeper Mark Travers was in fine form as he made a string of saves to keep out Villa for most of the game, but they found a way past him late on. Bournemouth looked like they were heading home empty handed, but Evanilson popped up with a header in the last minute to give Bournemouth a much needed goal and point.

These two results left Bournemouth fans confident that they could beat an unbeaten Manchester City at home in their next match, and not only did Bournemouth beat them, they destroyed them in terms of chances. It may have finished 2-1 to the Cherries, but they had plenty of chances to extend their lead. This result was the first time they had beaten City in the Premier League.

Down and Back Up Again

Following these results, many expected Bournemouth to breeze through their next games and push into the European spots, however if you are a Bournemouth fan, you’d know that it is never that easy for your club. They played Brentford away and Brighton at home over their next two matches, and despite scoring three goals, walked away with nothing.

Justin Kluivert's game by numbers vs. Wolves:

7 touches in opp. box
5 crosses
4 shots
4 shots on target
3 duels won
3 goals
2 chances created
2 tackles

The first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties. 🎩#WOLBOU pic.twitter.com/fCsmk579qV
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) November 30, 2024

Struggling Wolves were the next challenge to face Bournemouth and despite conceding twice in that match, they won 4-2. Kluivert became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat trick of penalties, and Evanilson was the first to win three in a match. The Cherries continued to win their next games, beating Tottenham at home and Ipswich away, with a very late winner once again. Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw with West Ham, which also saw a late goal from the Cherries.

Player of the Season

There isn’t a single player in the Bournemouth team that has stood out this season, rather the whole team working together. A couple weeks into the season, Antoine Semenyo would have been the obvious answer, but his attacking contributions have been lacking recently, so I think I’ll say that left back Milos Kerkez has been their player of the season so far. The 21-year-old Hungarian has been monitored by Liverpool for a while now, but he seems happy on the South Coast, where he scored his first Premier League goal this season against Wolves. He also provided two assists as Bournemouth beat Manchester City as well as developing well in his defensive attributes.

Season Rank: A

End of Season Prediction: 6th

Check out our Christmas Countdown article from yesterday.