DEFENSIVE CRISIS: ANDONI IRAOLA DEMANDS BETTER BOURNEMOUTH DEFENSE TONIGHT
Despite winning eight of the last ten against Everton, Bournemouth is in a slump. Iraola is worried about conceding too many goals but hopes to protect their unbeaten home record tonight.
Bournemouth's coach, Andoni Iraola, has named three Everton players his team needs to watch out for at tonight's game at Vitality Stadium (7:30 pm kickoff). Bournemouth has been a tough opponent for Everton recently.
Bournemouth has won eight of the last 10 games between the two teams. After Everton's 4-1 loss to Newcastle United, Bournemouth will try to win its fifth game in a row against them.
Even so, Bournemouth isn't doing great either. Their 3-2 loss to Sunderland, even after leading 2-0, means they haven't won a Premier League game in four tries.
Iraola is impressed with Everton and three of their attacking players in particular.
He said, I know this game will be hard.
Everton is playing very well, in my opinion. They now have Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
These are talented players who can make things happen even when you think you're in control.
This will be a big test for us. We need a good result, even more than a good game.
We'll have to play well to get a good result because Everton is a good team.
Bournemouth will be without David Brooks, Marcos Senesi, and Lewis Cook because they are suspended. Ryan Christie and Ben Gannon-Doak are still out with injuries.
Bournemouth will be defending their home record tonight, having won four and drawn two of their six Premier League games at home.
After not giving up any goals in their 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on October 26, they have given up 12 goals in their last four games.
Iraola said, Our main problem now is that we need to get better on defence. It doesn't matter how many goals we score if we're giving up two or three goals each game.
We're giving up too many goals, mostly from set plays, which wasn't happening at the start of the season. That makes it tough to compete in the Premier League.
To build something sustainable, we need to be strong on defence.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.