Bournemouth

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the day after Bournemouth's victory against Wolves: "I think we defended well but we missed situations where we should have killed the game and scored the second one but we didn't.

"We played first in the first 30 minutes, we attacked the spaces, we didn't concede too many chances. 1-0 is always tricky, you probably want to score the second one. After the red card, they defended well."

On Wolves' red card: "Evanilson will not appear in the goals and the assists today but he takes a good touch and forces Toti to push him and I value what he gives us a lot. Not only the goals but I value a lot of things."

On how pleased he is with the defence: "Overall, not just defensively I am happy because we have the clean sheet. We need to play more together in attack. This start of the season is diffiuclt, we still need to work with players, new players and we still need to work with them. If you win it is always easier."

Cherries winger Marcus Tavernier added: "We knew after last week that we needed to get our first win and it had to be today. It was against a tough opposition but I feel like we played with the intensity we did in the second half against Liverpool. You could see that at times. We should have shut the game out a bit quicker and scored another goal but credit to Wolves but glad to get the three points."

On his goal: "That's Ant [Semenyo] working his magic. Last week he dribbled with the ball and didn't pass to me, I didn't think he was going to do the same thing again today. He got me the ball and it took a lucky deflection but they all count."

Did you know?

For a second consecutive season, Antoine Semenyo has been directly involved in each of Bournemouth's first three goals of a Premier League campaign (2 goals & 1 assist in 2024-25, 2 goals & 1 assist in 2025-26).

Listen to Iraola's chat with BBC Radio Solent here

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 Wolves' display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Andoni Iraola keeps faith with the Bournemouth team that started the Premier League opener at Anfield last Friday.

Recent signings Ben Gannon-Doak and Amine Adli are among the substitutes, as are fit again Justin Kluivert and Ryan Christie.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Smith, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Adams, Semenyo, Scott, Tavernier, Brooks, Evanilson

Vitor Pereira makes just one change to the Wolves side that started the 4-0 defeat at home to Manchester City.

Jhon Arias makes his full debut in place of Andre, who is named on the bench alongside new signing Jackson Tchatchoua.

Wolves XI: Jose Sa, Doherty, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Hoever, Bellegarde, Joao Gomes, Moller Wolfe, Munetsi, Strand Larsen, Arias

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

• Manchester City v Tottenham (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Wolves

• Brentford v Aston Villa - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Sunderland - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Arsenal v Leeds (17:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

I really liked Bournemouth having a go at Liverpool. I know they ended up losing, but they always carry that attacking threat. They are so good in transition and they get bodies forward.

How do you judge Wolves after they got walloped at home against Manchester City? I mean, they did have chances in that match.

There is also concern as to whether Bournemouth have properly replaced their three best defenders, who they sold this summer.

It will be quite tight but I'm going to stick my neck out. Bournemouth will sneak it.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Sophie Brown
BBC Sport journalist

Both Bournemouth and Wolves will see this match as the perfect opportunity to bounce back from defeats in tough opening fixtures.

The away side has won the last five games between these teams, including last season's meeting at Molineux when Justin Kluivert became the first player in 67 years to score a hat-trick of penalties in an English top-flight match as Bournemouth won 4-2.

The Cherries were on the opposite end of a 4-2 scoreline against champions Liverpool last weekend – the first time they had conceded four goals since the season before last, but they won't be sounding the panic alarms just yet.

Bournemouth's defence has been raided this summer, with four of their first-choice back five leaving the club, including on-loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. In fact, none of the three goalkeepers who appeared for Bournemouth in last season's Premier League are still at the club.

So it is likely to take time for the new recruits to bed in, and although conceding four goals does not look good on paper, there were encouraging signs, in particular from left-back Adrien Truffert and centre-back Bafode Diakite, who signed just two days before the game.

Like Bournemouth, Wolves have lost some of their prize assets over the summer, including last season's top scorer Matheus Cunha and first-choice wing backs Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo, with striker Jorgen Strand Larsen also currently being linked with Newcastle.

Wolves didn't win any of their six pre-season games and lost their opening Premier League match 4-0 at home to Manchester City last Saturday. They will need to stop the rot quickly to avoid the risk of a start like last season when they lost seven of their first eight league fixtures, a dismal run of form that eventually cost head coach Gary O'Neil his job.

They have at least reacted swiftly in the wake of last week's defeat by signing Jackson Tchatchoua from Parma to replace Semedo – and you don't get much swifter than the Cameroon international defender, who was clocked as the fastest man in Serie A last season.

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Wolves at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his chat with BBC Radio Solent:

• Ryan Christie has been training normally this week, and Iraola hopes the midfielder will be involved in Saturday's match. Meanwhile, Justin Kluivert has taken part in some training but the Spaniard is unsure if the forward will be available.

• On the prospect of signing a centre-back: "We have to be aware of the market and try to improve in every position, but that is the focus of the club at the moment."

• Iraola is confident there will be departures from his "big squad" before the transfer window shuts, but added: "If they cannot find a good solution I am very ready to keep them because they are good players." The Cherries confirmed on Friday that Luis Sinisterra has joined Cruzeiro on loan with an obligation to buy.

• On the clubs's latest signing, Amine Adli: "I have seen him play a lot because of the relationship I have with Xabi Alonso [Adli's former manager at Bayer Leverkusen]. He gives us different options behind the number nine, left, right and number 10. I am really happy to have him."

• He spoke about fellow summer signing Ben Gannon-Doak "He doesn't have the same experience as Adli, but he has the future and he can grow a lot with us. He has played more on the right specifically, but I will try to make him more versatile."

• On Saturday's opponents: "We need to be clinical because I don't expect us to have many chances."

Hear more from Iraola on BBC Sounds

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

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Bournemouth winger Luis Sinisterra has joined Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro on a season-long loan deal with an obligation to buy.

The fee is £2m up front for the loan and that will rise to £10m when the deal is made permanent.

Sinisterra signed permanently for the Cherries in February 2024 from Leeds United and has made 36 appearances to date.

He will join Cruzeiro, who currently sit third in the Brazilian top flight, midway through their domestic campaign.

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Bournemouth will "continue to look weak" in defence this season if they do not sign another centre-back, says former defender Joe Partington.

The Cherries got their season underway with a 4-2 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield last Friday and now host Wolves on Saturday as they look for their first points of the campaign.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent's Cherries: Unpicked podcast, Partington said: "Bournemouth have signed a couple of wingers and it was really much needed.

"Even though the team played very well, and towards the end of the game [against Liverpool] they looked like they had the impetus to go and get something out of it, I just worry that in the latter stages of games, Bournemouth's starting XI is so good, can the substitutes come on and make an impact and contribute to the game as well as those other guys?

"I didn't feel like that on Friday but now with the addition of [Amine] Adli and Ben Gannon-Doak, we now have strength in numbers and I'm hoping they perform very well, but then I think defensively we will continue to look weak if we don't sign another centre-back.

"We spoke about it a lot last year and highlighted [Illia] Zabarnyi and [Dean] Huijsen and how good their partnership was, how that platform allowed Bournemouth to go on and be successful and ultimately have a record points total for the season. That feels like it has been decimated so much, so can Bournemouth now recreate that level of consistency at the back?

"As it stands, if that back four remains the same as the one on Friday, then I think they will struggle to do that."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

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Pre-season is usually a time for optimism among football fans – hopes and dreams that are often sent crashing back down to earth by an unfavourable result on the opening day.

Not many fanbases would actually become more optimistic after losing their first game 4-2 – but Bournemouth's performance at Anfield on Friday showed that Andoni Iraola's side are still capable of going toe-to-toe with the best sides in the division, in what was (on paper at least) their most difficult game of the season.

Clearly both teams were still integrating new players, and Bournemouth might envy the transfer fees Liverpool were able to pay in order to do so. But new Cherries left-back Adrien Truffert immediately looked at home in an Iraola side, arguably outshining his predecessor Milos Kerkez, who had a difficult start to his Liverpool career – given the runaround by two-goal Antoine Semenyo, yellow-carded before half-time and substituted on the hour.

A new-look back four also featured Bafode Diakite, barely 48 hours after signing from Lille. The French centre-back would be forgiven for barely knowing his team-mates' names as he was thrown straight into the cauldron of Anfield, but he displayed plenty of energy and showed he likes a tackle. Time will allow the retooled defence, also including new goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, to gain a greater understanding.

Further forward, the Cherries were missing three key men in Justin Kluivert, Lewis Cook and Ryan Christie, while the absence of Luis Sinisterra (reportedly lining up a move abroad) and Brentford-bound Dango Ouattara left them short of cover in the wide areas.

Iraola prefers to have a group of wide players available so the starters can run themselves ragged before being replaced after the hour mark. The fact he only made one change before the dying minutes at Anfield reflected his relative lack of forward ammunition on the bench.

However, new signings Ben Gannon Doak (as he now prefers to be known) and Amine Adli should remedy that situation. Gannon Doak has pace to burn and vast potential, Adli already has a Bundesliga winner's medal, and the pair are ready to be unleashed when Wolves visit Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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Bournemouth's new signing Amine Adli is realising a personal dream to play in the Premier League by moving to the south coast.

The 25-year-old joined from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £25.1m including add-ons on Thursday.

Adli scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists in 42 games in 2023-24 as Leverkusen won the Bundesliga and German Cup double under former boss Xabi Alonso.

Those close to the winger say he is excited to play under manager Andoni Iraola at a club that he feels is growing in stature.

He believes Iraola's style of play will fit his skill set having been pitched the chance to play both number 10 and on the right-wing.

Upon joining the club, Adli said: "The people around give me a lot of confidence here and I'm very impressed with the facilities.

"The people at the club are full of love, so I'm very happy and proud to play for Bournemouth and hopefully achieve good things."

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German football expert Constantin Eckner says it was "best for everyone involved to make a deal" to allow new Bournemouth signing Amine Adli to leave Bayer Leverkusen.

The 25-year-old winger struggled for game time in recent seasons but Eckner believes he has a natural place to fill in Andoni Iraola' set-up.

"Adli never managed to establish himself as a clear starter at Leverkusen", he told BBC Radio Solent.

"He was always at the fringes - coming in as a super sub and the 12th or 13th man usually and having players like Florian Wirtz and Nathan Tella ahead of him.

"Before the championship winning season in 2023-24 he played many more games because Wirtz was injured.

"It is best for everyone involved to make a deal and for Adli to go somewhere else and try there to be a starter.

"When we look at Bournemouth's starting XI for their first Premier League match against Liverpool, David Brooks played off the left wing but from what I know he is more of a right winger. Then there is Luis Sinisterra who is injured so I think there is an opening for a left winger.

"Adli has played mostly on the left wing or inside as a left sided number 10 or eight as an attacking midfielder a little more centrally. Usually he comes through the left side one way or another and in Andoni Iraola's 4-1-4-1 system right now he would probably be the man on the left wing.

"I think it's a fair deal in terms of price. He is still a young player, not quite at his peak in terms of athleticism. He still has a few years until he peaks but he played 140 games for Leverkusen and was part of the championship winning squad so is not just a nobody from the bench."

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Bournemouth have completed the signing of winger Amine Adli from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £25.1m.

The 25-year-old - who has 15 caps for Morocco - has signed a five-year deal.

In all, he played 143 times for Leverkusen, scoring 23 times.

The deal takes Bournemouth's spending to £346m since American billionaire Bill Foley bought the club just before the 2023 January window and Adli is the second winger bought in a week, following the arrival of Ben Gannon-Doak from Liverpool.

"I'm very proud first of all to play for a club like Bournemouth," Adli commented.

"I was looking at my next move and I felt like Bournemouth was the perfect place for me.

"The people around give me a lot of confidence here and I'm very impressed with the facilities. The people at the club are full of love, so I'm very happy and proud to play for Bournemouth and hopefully achieve good things."

Bournemouth's president of football operations, Tiago Pinto, said: "We're thrilled to bring a player of such calibre to AFC Bournemouth. Amine is a proven winner and someone that will be a real asset to our squad. He's entering the prime of his career and I'm really excited to bring him to the club.

"He's someone that has competed at the highest level and his ambition is very much aligned with ours. I'm looking forward to working together and seeing what we can achieve."

Bournemouth have opened talks with Chelsea over a loan deal for France centre-back Axel Disasi, 27. (Sacha Tavolieri via Football Insider), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Former midfielder Neil Maddison, who summarises for BBC Tees, says new arrival Ben Doak is a player who will get Bournemouth fans off their seats.

He told BBC Radio Solent: "You've got a winger that is direct, whoever he is playing against he is going to get at them and more than ever he will get past them and deliver balls into the box. He is very quick - blistering pace.

"He normally goes on the outside and I think at times in the Premier League you might get found out that way but for me, he is a player who doesn't care who he is playing against because he is going to get at you.

"I always thought that he wouldn't get into Liverpool's side because I would say technically he has still got a lot to learn in that department.

"In terms of his pace, his aggression - it's all there. It's just that technical ability where you get past the man and you're looking for a decent ball.

"He can be hit and miss at times but he just frightens defenders and therefore he pushes defences back and it allows that midfield to get the ball a little bit more.

"I guarantee you'll be off your seats when he's on the ball because he is just so direct and he loves getting into full-backs, taking them on, he loves creating opportunities and for us in the Championship he was at a different level altogether."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

Sam Davis
Fan writer

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The Premier League is back and while many clubs up and down the country are excited to see their new stars, Bournemouth fans are just delighted they have seemingly managed to keep hold of one of their own.

After an impressive campaign last time out for the Cherries, Antoine Semenyo was a man hotly tipped to move on to "bigger" things, but the club secured a contract extension and after one single gameweek, it already feels like a master-stroke on Bournemouth's part.

Semenyo grabbed a brace at Anfield in what was a valiant display from the side, despite defeat. Equally, it was a mightily majestic performance from the winger.

He has been a hit on the south coast ever since he joined from Bristol City back in January 2023, but I don't think anyone quite saw his ceiling being quite as high as it currently seems.

He has often been utilised as a central striker both at his previous clubs and also for his Ghanaian national team, but it's as a winger that Antoine has really started to glow up the Premier League. It was current Cherries coach Andoni Iraola who started using Semenyo from out wide, and both his electric pace and relentless power has been a joy to watch from the offset.

He often creates and scores goals, and he turns full backs inside out and bullies them on a regular basis. So it certainly feels like if Semenyo can remain fit and consistent, then he could be the catalyst yet again for another remarkable Bournemouth season.

Watch this space! This boy is remarkable.

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

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport journalist

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Ben Doak was regularly terrorising opposition full-backs in the Championship with his pace and direct style before a thigh injury ended his 2024-25 season prematurely in late January.

Doak, who made his senior Scotland debut last September, provided three goals and seven assists in 21 starts for Middlesbrough.

Among players to have featured in at least 20 Championship games last season, the 19-year-old ranked in the top six per 90 minutes for assists, chances created and touches in the opposition penalty area.

More on what we learned from the Premier League opening weekend

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Ben Doak says Bournemouth provide "the perfect fit" for him after completing his move from Liverpool.

The 19-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the Cherries and said: "I'm buzzing to be here. I feel like it's the right time for me and it's a great opportunity to play regular football at the highest level. It feels like the perfect fit.

"The team play very nice football. It's fast and it really suits my game, so I felt like I couldn't say no to the chance to play here."

Tiago Pinto, the club's head of football operations, added: "Ben is an exciting young talent who has shown his quality at the highest level despite his age.

"He brings pace and energy that will fit our model well and we're thoroughly looking forward to helping him fulfil his potential at AFC Bournemouth.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the expected arrival of winger Ben Doak from Liverpool and where you see him fitting in.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: The Cherries are in desperate shortage of strikers so this must be a definite plus. Defence looking a bit shaky settling in but I feel sure they will get it together soon.

Dominik: A lot of money for an unproven player in the Premier League. Poor stats for Championship season. I think there are better options

Charles: Doak is clearly a huge talent and showed glimpses of real quality last season on loan at Middlesbrough. He is predominantly a right winger but could possibly operate on the left flank. There are a few worries about injury issues but hopefully they can be carefully managed at the club's new world class performance centre. I don't think he is an automatic starter but he will still get ample opportunity to impress. The cherries now need another high quality centre-half and a striker.

Paul: Paying far too much for a very untested player, who hardly lit the Championship up at all last year. This is silly business and smacks of other previous overspending we've done from Liverpool. Really can't make head nor tail of this. Especially when you'll see Hamed Traore and Philip Billing leave for buttons soon.

Mike: Happy with that. Stay injury free and he's a gem.