England's top-flight has become a melting pot of teams who will do anything but roll over - they fight tooth and nail for every point.
Buoyed by the big guns regressing, the line has been blurred between teams normally considered 'mid-table' and those chasing European football, with just six points separating second and seventh in the Premier League table.
No team is more deceptively devastating than Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth.
It isn't a far cry to say they're the best team in the league without the ball. They have thrived on their intense work out of possession to propel them up the standings into seventh.
While not an exclusive issue to the Cherries, they've had to navigate recent matches without nine first team players due to injury.
And yet despite this, they comprehensively beat Newcastle 4-1 in what was the highlight of the most recent round of Premier League fixtures.
While their campaign has been a brilliant achievement thus far, the underlying numbers indicate the Cherries should as high as third.
Their expected points (xP) total of 40.84 is lower than only Arsenal and Liverpool, with them underperforming their expected goals (xG) by 7.

Remarkably, they are managing to do all this having sold their best player in the summer (Dominic Solanke) with Iraola's most expensive signing being his replacement Evanilson.
Bournemouth gambled after Gary O'Neil kept them up in the summer of 2023 by hiring the former Rayo Vallecano coach. But sticking to his robust style of play with an emphasis on aggression out of possession has paid off in a big way.
The pressing monsters
Most teams use their out-of-possession game plan as a way to defend against attacks. For Bournemouth, it is the reverse. The Cherries' high press suffocates and overwhelms opponents, causing turnovers and teams to make mistakes in defensive build-up.
It’s no surprise that they’re ranked first for shot-ending high turnovers (45) - this is the number of attacks that end with a Bournemouth shot and began by turning the ball over high.
The stats embody the clear identity Iraola has instilled in his team: ranked fourth highest for high turnovers, third for pressures in the final third and second for pressures resulting in turnovers.
Bournemouth throttle teams in the press with the aim to win the ball while the opponent attempts to progress from defence.
Most teams that mark man-for-man are doing so to prevent central progression but all of Bournemouth’s forwards and two central midfielders are constantly looking to tackle and steal the ball.


It doesn’t matter how deep a Newcastle midfielder comes to receive the ball from defence, they are tracked by one of two midfield pivots aggressively. It’s risky to instruct your central midfielders to push up high as well as attempt to steal the ball.
Bruno Guimarães could evade Ryan Christie’s tackle and cut through the press, but the reward for Bournemouth is winning it in dangerous areas close to goal.
As wingers Antoine Semenyo and David Brooks track the full-backs, the striker (Dango Ouattara) and attacking midfielder (Justin Kluivert) manmark the centre-backs.
With this setup, if midfielders Tyler Adams and Christie are incapable of turning the ball over once an opposition midfielder has received, Bournemouth capitalise on the mistake of a defender attempting to play out from the back.


The above situations led to a goal and a chance inside the box. As Bournemouth push many players up in the press, even when they have tired legs late on in games, it forces teams into making an error with strength in numbers in attack ready to pounce.
The press exposes defenders that aren’t the best at playing out from the back - such as Fulham's Issa Diop and Newcastle's Dan Burn - as not every defender in a team is the best with the ball at their feet. Chances are created for Iraola's team simply by being in the right place.

The manner in which Bournemouth harry midfielders means they're forced to feint and try to take players on, when Sandro Tonali is unable to do so because he has played himself into a vulnerable position, Semenyo can leave his marker close by (Joelinton followed by Milos Kerkez) and retrieve the ball.

It's a testament to the recruitment under Iraola that money was spent on players who were not only good in their positions but exceptional without the ball. It allows them to fit into a team that can press as a collective.
Bournemouth's forwards are quick in transition but are smart when they jump in a press, as Kluivert leaves his man to read where the ball is going and intercept goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's pass in their meeting with Chelsea.
As the Cherries reputation grows, some teams have looked to adapt their game plan to sit deep in a low block. And yet despite Solanke's departure, they still use the direct long ball up to Evanilson to bypass players in the press.
Whether it's losing star players to other teams or injuries, the principles instilled by Iraola means that regardless of who plays, the vigorous pressing remains.
This makes Bournemouth lethal for any team in the Premier League.
His revolution is in full flow - the next destination could well be Europe.
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