Bournemouth implement Andoni Iraola's strategy well in the 3-1 win over Southampton
By Aakash Desai
Recently, Southampton faced their fifth Premier League defeat this season as they conceded three first half goals against Bournemouth. Although Taylor Harwood-Bellis’s goal early in the second half kept Southampton’s hopes of a comeback, but Andoni Iraola's side didn't concede any goal after that and took the 3-1 win in their home fixture. Despite Iraola's absence due to his one game suspension in the Premier League, the home side took advantage of the Saints defensive issues and created a lot of great chances from the first half itself.
However, Russell Martin's side again dominated the ball possession throughout the match but couldn't score more goals in the match. Before the match, Andoni Iraola gave a similar explanation on Bournemouth's tactics to face Southampton at home, saying,
Bournemouth implement Andoni Iraola's strategy well in the 3-1 win over Southampton
"It doesn't matter if you are on the ball or not. You can choose to be on the ball because you normally have to run less and can dictate the game.
- Andoni Iraola
I always prefer to have chances instead of the ball. They will do what they normally do and we will try to do the same."
This opinion by Iraola was the highlight of the match as the Saints looked good in their build up play for a few minutes but when Bournemouth won the ball possession, they always seemed to be creating good goal scoring chances around the edge of the box. Moreover, Bournemouth came up with a brilliant strategy as they didn't allow much space to Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes inside the final third. On top of that, manager Russell Martin decided to start a new formation with a central playmaker instead of a number nine which made it easy for Bournemouth to defend in the first half.
Next. Bournemouth score three first-half goals as Saints face another 3-1 defeat. Bournemouth score three first-half goals as Saints face another 3-1 defeat. dark
Southampton were starting to build some momentum in their new season, but this defeat before facing Mikel Arteta's Arsenal has again led Russell Martin and the squad to make some key lineup and tactical changes in order to take some points before the upcoming international break.
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