Departures, Rebuild and Resilience Define Bournemouth’s Opening Weeks

Bournemouth’s Summer of Change at the Vitality

It has been a mixed start to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign for Bournemouth.

Having lost their starting center back duo Ilya Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen, as well as starting left back Milos Kerkez, starting goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and a crucial winger in Dango Ouattara, there were always bound to be some teething issues as the Cherries looked to rebound and start a new chapter. To commence that new era, they had the toughest possible opener: a trip to Anfield.

Semenyo Sparks an Early Statement at Anfield

Bournemouth looked set for a comprehensive defeat only for Antoine Semenyo to score twice in quick succession to tie things up. However, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah would score in the final minutes to snatch a 4-2 victory for defending champions Liverpool. Next, it was off to the Vitality, where Semenyo teed up Marcus Tavernier’s opener in the fourth minute. Toti Gomes saw red for a last-man tackle after the break, as Bournemouth held on for a 1-0 win.

They remained in the south coast but found themselves overwhelmed by a traveling Brentford side who took the lead before the break via Fabio Carvalho before doubling their advantage via Igor Thiago to cement a 2-0 win in the EFL Cup. However, Andoni Iraola’s side would rebound in impressive fashion, with Marcos Senesi finding Evanilson for the opening goal in the fifth minute. Bournemouth diligently defended and hit Tottenham in transition; despite having just 31% possession, they racked up 1.59 xG and 20 shots to Spurs’ 0.19 xG and 5 shots.

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After prevailing 1-0 in North London, Bournemouth currently find themselves in seventh place, level on six points with Sunderland, Everton, Tottenham and Arsenal, one point behind Chelsea, and three behind league leaders Liverpool. They’ll be looking to continue that on Saturday as they take on Brighton at home, facing off against a team that, after starting their season with a draw to Fulham and a loss at Everton, has since thrashed Oxford United 6-0 and pulled off a 2-1 win against Manchester City.

Sticking With a Winning Formula – For Now

So far, Iraola has gone for a standard, unrotated XI for each of his first three matches: Djordje Petrovic starts in goal, Adam Smith, Bafode Diakite, Senesi and Adrien Truffert make up the back four, Tyler Adams and Alex Scott operate the double pivot, whilst Semenyo, Tavernier, and David Brooks work their magic up top behind Evanilson.

It remains to be seen whether or not Iraola will tweak things and entrust a new attacking arrival like Romain Faivre, Ben Doak, Eli Junior Kroupi or Amine Adli with a starting spot anytime soon, but it’s likely that these changes won’t come after a solid win against Spurs. One thing’s for sure, though: this is a team that’s in transition.

“They’ve had some massive departures,” stated ex-Premier League striker Gordon ‘Flash Watson to EPL Index. “They’ve done the investment and actually put together a really good team…their recruitment has been absolutely brilliant going back to the days of Richard Hughes, when he was working as their Technical Director.”

“It goes back to buying the right players,” stated Watson, who played alongside the likes of Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall, and Hughes during his stay at Bournemouth in the 1999/00 season. “It goes back to buying the right players, and it’s the reason Brighton have done so well, but this year’s gonna be a real test, and there’s a massive hole on the left side of Bournemouth’s defense. I think there’s worse teams than Bournemouth, so I think they’ll get away with a little bit of a rebuild.”

Can Bournemouth finally string together back-to-back wins? Stay tuned for what promises to be a fascinating encounter at the Vitality.

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