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A deeply frustrating run continues. Bournemouth beat Fulham on Monday evening, but against Crystal Palace they wholly failed to create anything of note. Andoni Iraola’s team have won one of their last 10 games in all competitions and scored more than once in two of those 10.
Iraola was presumably relieved to see Alex Scott avoid a second yellow card for an incident remarkably similar to the one that saw Palace reduced to 10, but I wonder if he might actually have preferred to play 11 vs 11. Before then, Palace were pushing their full-backs forward and leaving space for Antoine Semenyo and Dango Outtara.
Following Chris Richards’s red card, Palace understandably sat back and looked to preserve some energy. That challenged Bournemouth to break down a deep-lying defence and they completely failed in that task. Iraola’s side produced a total expected goals (xG) of 0.28 from nine shots during the second half. They were largely limited to crosses from deep and shots from distance, all low-percentage plays.
That’s a theme. From the nine league games during which Bournemouth have had their highest possession shares, they have taken 10 points in total. From the nine games during which Bournemouth have had their lowest possession shares, they have taken 20 points.
That is the one question about Iraola and those links to bigger jobs. Last week The i Paper reported that he may well sign a new contract to stay at Bournemouth next season despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur. That might allow him to work on improving his ability to create a style that works when given the impetus to break down deeper-lying opponents. The weakness is no longer a secret.