AFC Bournemouth traveled to Burnley in search of a first Premier League victory in 2024.
Up until this point, performances had been good with defeats to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester City. But with the run extending to seven games without a win, some itchy feet and nerves may well have been creeping into the Cherries camp.
Goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo secured the three points, in a match that did not enthrall nor entertain. It will not be remembered by many, but is one that brought home the points.
After the game, AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola told Sky Sports…
“…To play against Burnley is not easy, they have a lot of the ball and they keep their goalkeeper high so if you want to press them, you have to spend a lot of energy pressing high. Because we got the goal so early, we didn’t want to press so high. The second half we dealt with the threat much better and we did what was required.
“It was a relief as in the last few games we were in a similar position when we scored early and then we lost some valuable points at the end of the game. When you score, you finally think it’s going to be the end of the day.
“We didn’t play so well but we ended up winning it. So sometimes you have to know how to win this kind of games. I hope we can keep this confidence, trying to improve our level. We need to improve our level at home.
“We still need points. It was important to come here and score goals and win games, but we still need more points and wins. The sooner we get them, the better and the more chances we leave us at the end of the season.”
Man of the match against BurnleyCookNetoSemenyoKerkezKluivertSmithSolankeZabarnyiTavernierSomeone else |
"Sometimes you need to know how to win these kind of games" đŹ
Andoni Iraola was pleased with the character his side showed in their win over Burnley đ pic.twitter.com/gXXjdlSJGI
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 3, 2024
Happy Sunday â˝ď¸ pic.twitter.com/fRQbMO1rD2
— Justin Dean Kluivert (@justinkluivert) March 3, 2024
New Forest Cherry
Thought burnley were excellent (Barcelona between the thirds, Barnet in the penalty area) and we got out of goal thanks to Kluivert’s finish and Neto’s save
Christie was a huge miss, didn’t even realise he was playing before getting subbed
love to know what Tav was doing with that free-kick
How did Neto keep this out?! đą
Some stop from the Bournemouth 'keeper đ #BURBOU pic.twitter.com/SggChaIE9O
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 3, 2024
SlowDownDerek
Mostly agree but it’s not that much of a worry that Burnley were able to have so much joy in central midfield. It’s not like we’ve been constantly undone there in recent games against much better opponents. More likely it’s due to Christie being unwell.
Only Neto could react to making one of the saves of the season with "it's my job" â¤ď¸ pic.twitter.com/xmT3zVgbeg
— AFC Bournemouth đ (@afcbournemouth) March 3, 2024
darwinsdummy
I think Christie being off today (and his sub, Scott, having played 120 midweek) had a bigger impact on our inability to get the usual press working. Even with a 100% fit Solanke pressing I think we’d have struggled to implement it with today’s midfield. I’d expect that with a week of rest we should be back to usual programming against Sheffield United.
Mood đ pic.twitter.com/GqK02QE9po
— AFC Bournemouth đ (@afcbournemouth) March 3, 2024
Kicks_On_66
An ugly win. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Ugly. But it counts 3 points just like the gem at Manchester United. Some of our guys look like they need some rest, maybe getting the job done today will help with that. I thought our back 4 all played pretty well, plus Lewis Cook. Kluivert and Semenyo did enough.I really don’t understand why Tavernier is playing as much as he is. Someone else mentioned that maybe Sinisterra has drawn the manager’s ire for some reason. – To join the conversation, click here.