11 December 2023 , 08:34
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Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has suggested the Cherries' superb 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford was all a matter of exploiting space which had been carelessly left for them by the opposition.
The south coast side stunned United and boss Erik ten Hag by registering the club's first ever away win over United on Saturday, when goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi condemned United to a new low under their Dutch manager.
Ten Hag admitted that he felt sorry for the club's fans after they had to witness the defeat, which Iraola says came about because of a simple counter-attacking tactic.
The Basque boss said: "They [United] send a lot of players forward so you will get spaces. We knew they would make our wingers run backwards, but we knew when we could recover high our forwards would have space. We knew in transitions we would have our chances and we took them."
Forward Solanke expressed the delight in the away dressing room when he added: "The boys are delighted. We've been building a lot in the last few weeks and we're feeling confident.
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Iraola's side outsmarted Ten Hag's on the counter attack (Paul Currie/REX/Shutterstock)"I think we've just started clicking. At the beginning [under Iraola] we were still trying to find our feet with a new philosophy. We've definitely started gelling in the last few weeks and it has showed on the pitch. To win away at Old Trafford is touching for everyone."
Ten Hag now has to pick his side up for the visit of Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday, while only a win over the German giants will give his side any hope of reaching the last-16 of the competition.
Dominic Solanke scored the first of Bournemouth's three goals (Getty Images)The Dutchman was downbeat after the Bournemouth loss, saying: "I think we didn't start well and we already had a warning shot, when they almost had a penalty. That should have woken us up. But then we gave a goal away very easily. And then you make them big because they are a transition team and they defended very tough.
"They go in the duels, they go one on one and it was very difficult then. I thought we played too but we didn't have the brilliance in the box.
"I feel sorry for [the fans] because they're always behind us and they could expect more from us and we have to do it from the first whistle. And you can't start the game after five minutes."