Bournemouth

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Jeff Hayward, from the Back of the Net podcast, says Bournemouth fans are "loving every minute" of an "astonishing start to the season".

The Cherries, who beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Sunday, are second in the Premier League with 18 points from nine matches.

Hayward told BBC Radio 5 Live that manager Andoni Iraola is a huge contributor to Bournemouth's success and he also credits the backroom staff.

"We've got a great recruitment team," said Hayward. "We're well financed, we're well run and it's showing.

"A lot is obviously said about Iraola and he's a huge huge part of what we're achieving on the south coast, but there's also credit to the club and the team."

On 19-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi, who scored his fourth goal in three appearances from 30 yards out against Forest, Hayward added: "What a talent he is.

"We've had a lot of media coverage about Antoine Semenyo, but from the top to the bottom, everybody is pulling in the same direction.

"Every player pulls their weight, and you can see that in someone like Marcus Tavernier.

"This is a great start but we're looking forward to what the rest of the season holds."

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Steve: We absolutely, utterly deserve to be second. We are excellent, exciting and also very strong throughout the whole team.

Stewart: It's quite simple, really - the performance has always been very good. Keep this team together until the end of the season, and that includes the coach, and we will play in Europe.

Andrew: We are truly living in a parallel universe - from minus 17 points to second place in the Premier League. This Iraola team really doesn't know its place.

Nottingham Forest fans

Terry: This just goes to show that you can't buy a good team unless you know what you're doing. Forest are a Championship team, not Premier League, and will be relegated no matter how much they spend or how many managers they have.

Steve B: It was always going to be tough after the high of Porto. We were dire on set pieces and lacked fight, especially in the first half. However, we have 29 games left, 87 points up for grabs. Confident that Dyche will get us better organised and the results will come.

Neil: Lacked any urgency, even on rare attacking positions and always chose the wrong option. Slow sideways and backwards passes all game. No runners into space and lost every 50/50 challenge. Didn't look like they wanted to win. We are in big, big trouble.

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Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says Bournemouth could "throw a few spanners into the works" this season after a strong start.

The Cherries are second in the Premier League after beating Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"I like their level of consistency and every year we see top players getting ripped out of their team, yet they never miss a beat," said Reo-Coker on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast. "That shows to me that they have a great foundation of a football club.

"Some of the players who have been there a while like James Tavernier and Antoine Semenyo are also really underrated.

"I would certainly keep a eye on them this season because the one advantage that they have is that they don't have European competition. That makes it easier for them to focus on the Premier League.

"An ambition for them this year should also be to get a good cup run, or even win the FA Cup, and throw a few spanners into the works in the league."

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Pundits Danny Murphy and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

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And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City

• Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

• Wolves 2-3 Burnley

• Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest

• Everton 0-3 Tottenham

Bournemouth rejected bids of £50m from Tottenham and Manchester United for 25-year-old Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo in the summer. (Telegraph), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The biggest compliment you can give Bournemouth is that their rise to second place in the Premier League table has come as little surprise.

Andoni Iraola's team have been magnificent since their opening-day defeat by Liverpool, and in Eli Junior Kroupi they appear to have unearthed another gem to shoulder the goalscoring burden in the absence of injured first-choice frontman Evanilson.

The 19-year-old former Lorient striker followed up his double at Crystal Palace last weekend with a rocket into the bottom corner to double the hosts' lead against Nottingham Forest, becoming the first Frenchman to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances since Jean-Philippe Mateta back in January.

The teenager's latest strike came 15 minutes after the Cherries' somewhat unconventional opener - a Marcus Tavernier corner which evaded everyone on its way into the back of Matz Sels' net - but the goal was no less than Iraola's side deserved as they swarmed all over Forest in the first half.

Bournemouth took their foot off the gas after half-time but could have added a late third when a free-flowing counter-attack ended with Ryan Christie's attempted back-heel into David Brooks being intercepted by Elliot Anderson.

After the Cherries' scintillating start to the season, talks over a new contract for manager Iraola will be top of the agenda for Bournemouth owner Bill Foley, who was in attendance at Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Iraola, who has been linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs in recent months, is under contract at Bournemouth until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Listen to Tavernier's post-match interview with BBC Radio Solent on BBC Sounds

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's victory over Nottingham Forest: "I think it was a solid performance. In the first half I think we played better. I was really pleased. We got ourselves into a deserved position at half-time.

"We started really strong and scored the two goals. You're never confident – we had the [bad] experience at Crystal Palace last weekend.

"We wanted to keep a high rhythm. We knew they had a game against Porto a few days ago, so we knew the higher the tempo, the better for us.

"It's definitely a very good start, but it's just a start. This season, the differences between teams are so small. It's going to be difficult for us to earn more points, but we have to try."

On holding contract talks with owner Bill Foley: "We walk a lot. I told him he has to come more times – whenever he does we seem to get a good result. We're going to have time to talk.

"We talk every day, but the season has just started."

Bournemouth winger Marcus Tavernier also spoke to BBC MOTD: "I don't think I've ever scored from a corner before. I'm not going to say I meant it.

"We've been focusing more on set plays because they're such an important part of the game nowadays, but normally it's just about aiming for an area [in the penalty box]. I'll admit, that wasn't the area I was aiming for."

On Bournemouth's position: "We're not there by luck – it's not been given to us. We've worked hard and got the results we wanted. We can enjoy this moment now, but we need to keep working hard to end up where we want to at the end of the season."

Listen to more from Iraola on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Bournemouth's tally of 18 points (P9 W5 D3 L1) after nine league matches is their most ever at this stage of a top-flight season - surpassing the 17 points they picked up in 2018/19 under Eddie Howe (P9 W5 D2 L2).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Forest's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Bournemouth make one change to side who drew to Crystal Palace last weekend as boss Andoni Iraola brings in Veljko Milosavljevic for his second league start and drops Bafode Diakite to the bench.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Jimenez, Milosavljevic, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Adams, Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo, Kroupi

Subs: Adli, Brooks, Christie, Cook, Dennis, Diakite, Gannon-Doak, Soler, Unal

Sean Dyche also makes one change to the Nottingham Forest team that started Thursday's 2-0 Europa League victory over Porto.

Nicolo Savona, a half-time substitute against the Portuguese side, replaces the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, while striker Chris Wood also misses the game with a knee problem.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Savona, Douglas Luiz, Anderson, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus

Subs: Awoniyi, Dominguez, Hutchinson, Kalimuendo, Victor, Cunha, Morato, Sangare, Yates

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Man City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Wolves v Burnley - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Everton v Tottenham (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

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Sean Dyche is a sensible appointment by Nottingham Forest but the way his predecessor Ange Postecoglou was treated by their fans makes me think he is better off out of there.

Dyche is more of a Nuno Espirito Santo figure than an Ange in terms of how he will set his side up, but Forest's aim now is to stay in the Premier League and Dyche has already shown he can keep teams up.

This is a tough start for him, though. Bournemouth should have beaten Crystal Palace last week but they are still third and are flying at the moment.

The Cherries always create chances, especially at home, and I don't feel as if Forest will be able to hold out.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at the Vitality Stadium (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Iraola confirmed striker Evanilson is "definitely out" for Forest's visit, adding: "He is not far, not ready for Sunday but I hope he is ready for the next one (Man City next week)."

• He gave further injury updates, explaining: "Brooksy has been training with us for a few days, I hope he will be available. I don't think we will recover Julio because he was with the Under-20s with Argentina and played the final."

• Alternative striker option Enes Unal returned from a serious knee injury to play 45 minutes for the development squad this week and is "training fully".

• Iraola said "it is a big boost for Unal personally" but played down the Turkish international's chances of making the bench, saying that places in the squad are "not cheap", amid a near-clean bill of health.

• On praise for last weekend's goal-scorer Eli Junior Kroupi: "Junior has also been among the goals. It's about establishing himself in the Premier League. We are asking a lot from him to make the big jump from France's second division."

• On Bournemouth being third in the Premier League: "It is obviously positive stats but it is just the start of the season. The standings are almost an anecdote, it is not significant. I value how we are competing in every game and are efficient but it is too early. A few defeats and it is a little bit different."

• Asked about facing Sean Dyche, Iraola added: "We don't have a lot of references. The game last night against Porto was the best reference we have. Straight away, you can see it is his team."

• He continued about Forest: "They changed players and system so it is difficult to prepare. We know the players Forest have and how a Sean Dyche team prepares and competes."

• Iraola also admitted: "Dan Ndoye is a player we were following and I think he is a great signing."

• Lastly, the Basque manager was asked about the nine goal involvements from star attacker Antoine Semenyo: "Antoine is someone who accepts well our criticism and we tell him not to stop here, not to focus only on your numbers."

• Adding more on Semenyo's other strengths, Iraola said: "Even the other day, Junior Kroupi scores but he was the first one to flick it or arrive. He has added aerial power to his game and defensively, he is honest and disciplined. This improves the package and he is not just what you see in the highlights. I think there are still areas he knows he has to improve and get better."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest on Sports Extra 2 here

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BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark believes Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola will be "assessing all the options" as he enters the final months of his contract.

The Cherries Unpicked podcast presenter thinks the decision could go either way for the "honest and loyal" Iraola, who will be out of contract next summer.

"What we know about him is that he favours these short-term deals," Clark said.

"So usually he likes a one-year contract and I think it all comes from his time playing under Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Club towards the end of his career [2011-2013]. There was an occasion when Bielsa was at Leeds and he didn't commit and was nearly out of contract before he decided everything was right and he wanted to stay for another year.

"So a part of me feels and hopes it gets done soon and the noise goes away but, it might be something that doesn't happen until the summer or late in the day when he's assessed all the options, and decided whether Bournemouth is the place for him.

"They did really well getting him to sign a two-year contract first of all and then getting him to extend it one year in but, that cushion's disappeared now we're into that final season.

"His stock is incredibly high and I think he's an honest and loyal bloke who probably, if he thinks he's not going to stick around, won't just sign a contract for the sake of it and if it's short-term it doesn't give Bournemouth security anyway.

"I don't know at this stage which way it goes. I think there's only a handful of clubs he'd leave for but if he thinks there's a prospect one of those jobs could come up in the summer, then maybe he doesn't sign a contract."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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"We're AFC Bournemouth, we're top of the league."

Not one of the most common chants in football. Perhaps only heard before when they won the old Third Division (now League One) title in 1987, and when they pipped Watford to the Championship summit in the dying seconds of the 2014-15 season.

But for about an hour at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Cherries fans in the away section were proudly singing about being top of the Premier League pile, while hastily grabbing a screenshot of the "as it stands" table to remind themselves that it really did happen.

It didn't last. A hotly disputed penalty in stoppage time drew Crystal Palace level at 3-3, while even if they had held on, Arsenal's victory in the later kick-off would have propelled the Gunners back to the top.

With the early-season table gradually taking shape with eight games played, the 'old order' has largely reasserted itself, with five of the 'big six' clubs (those who attempted to join a European Super League) occupying positions in the top six.

But Bournemouth currently stand as the outlier among them - the 'best of the rest' if you prefer - with the longest current unbeaten streak in the league, having not lost since the opening day at Liverpool.

The bunched nature of the top half of the table - only three points separate the Cherries in third from Aston Villa in 11th - means that positions are likely to change thick and fast over the next few rounds of games.

And while they have never been this high in the table, this deep into a season, no-one at Bournemouth will be getting carried away just yet.

On Sunday, Bournemouth host Nottingham Forest, with the visitors already on their third boss of the season and looking for the kind of 'new manager bounce' that has so far completely eluded West Ham, the only other club to sack their manager this season.

Coincidentally, for new Forest manager Sean Dyche, his first league game in charge will be at Vitality Stadium - the venue for his last game before he was fired as Everton boss back in January.

Sam Davis
Fan writer

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Bournemouth continue to impress in the early stages of this season's Premier League, even sitting top of the pack for a spell at the weekend.

There are a whole range of factors that contribute to the club's glorious start to the campaign, but their exciting young talent is certainly one of those.

There will always be a need for experienced players, the types of personnel who fit the 'been there and done that' bracket - but with high pressing and an aggressive approach becoming at large within the Premier League more than ever before, it seems to suggest that, these days, if you are good enough, you are old enough.

Indeed on Saturday, Ryan Christie was the first player aged 30 or above to score in the Premier League for the Cherries since 2023, cementing the point that the squad on the whole are very youthful.

This certainly is not by accident. It is undoubtedly by design, with Andoni Iraola favouring an all-action and energetic approach to games. That means his players have to be full of vigour.

The Cherries players are consistently at the top of any 'ground covered' metric, and the need for that youthful vibrancy is evidently key. Iraola has made the side's organised yet chaotic approach a valuable weapon, with high turnovers and interceptions in the attacking third being order of the day since his arrival.

There have been a number of standout players since the start of the season, but to see Eli Junior Kroupi getting numbers, as well as more minutes for blossoming talents like Alex Scott and Alex Jimenez, the Cherries really are in a good place.

Find more from Sam Davis at Back of the Net, external

Chris Wise
BBC Radio 5 Live commenator

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The 3-3 draw between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth was comfortably the best Premier League game I've seen in the flesh this season. It might seem strange to drag the focus away from the main protagonists of Saturday's show, but hear me out.

Tyler Adams had another very impressive game. He's going under the radar slightly at the moment, as much as a Premier League player can. There aren't too many defensive midfielders that are as crucial to their team right now as the USA international is to Bournemouth.

I think most would agree that the Cherries' hastily assembled new-look backline have settled well. But the impact Adams has had in allowing that to happen needs to be noted. He screens the scene superbly, and offers a bite and intensity to the base of Bournemouth's midfield. There were a couple of times against Crystal Palace where the Bournemouth defence had been stretched, and it was Adams who was there to bail them out.

He became a dad during the most recent international break, so a huge congratulations to him and his partner. And 2026 promises to be a big year too with a home World Cup for Adams on the horizon. He is going to be one of the poster boy for the United States, but given his performances of late, that's something he'll be able to take in his stride.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

Here are some of your comments:

Palace fans

Bob: A great comeback from being 2-0 down, and thanks to Daniel Munoz. We could have lost the game but he defended superbly denying Bournemouth late in the game. If only Jean-Philippe Mateta could have scored from point-blank range at the end of the game. Still a valuable point!

Al: Sometimes a game just goes crazy and this was one of them. On another day, Mateta could have had five goals. This Palace team just fight for each other. A manager's nightmare to watch but a great spectacle for football fans.

Trevor: PHEW.

Glen: It was a great comeback from Palace but honestly we should have not been in that position in the first place if we had taken our chances. Bournemouth were well drilled and took their chances but we were wasteful. We need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Saying all that, as a supporter of 40 years I have never seen Palace so impressive on and off the pitch.

Bournemouth fans

Ray: Fabulous first half and a great performance. Sadly Palace looked like they were going to score from every attack in the second. Take the point and move on.

Oliver: We played very well. Many VAR checks that were not all correct from my perspective like the penalty - Marc Guehi pulled Bafode Diakite's shirt and goes diving and from the ref's perspective it looks like he was fouled. I thought that Eli Kroupi had a great game. As long as we can keep the momentum going, we can get into Europe.

Jim: What a fantastic game to watch. Mateta was the difference between a Cherries win and a draw. Thankfully he skied the ball at the end. It would have been so unfair if it had gone in. Ignoring VAR, a fair result in the end.

David: Tremendous character to regain the lead at 2-2. If that's a penalty, why don't we see 10 more like that every weekend?

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth winger Amine Adli says team-mate Eli Junior Kroupi "is a crazy talent" after scoring twice against Crystal Palace on his full club debut.

Stepping in to replace Evanilson, who was sidelined with a calf problem, he started up front and proved that age is just a number at 19 years old.

"He is amazing," Adli, who signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, told BBC Radio Solent. "From what I have seen since joining, when he is on the pitch he is going to score.

"He has flare and is a crazy talent at 19. Everyone saw the way the he can play [against Palace] and the club is making good progress with him.

"I am happy for him because he deserves it a lot. He's a striker with a unique style and he can be a playmaker too.

"The future is bright for him."

Listen to Adli's full interview on BBC Sounds

Bournemouth are prepared for more bids for forward Antoine Semenyo in future transfer windows. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news and rumours? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Manchester City 2-0 Everton

• Crystal Palace 3-3 Bournemouth

• Fulham 0-1 Arsenal