Bournemouth have been producing outstanding performances lately, putting them in seventh place in the Premier League, just three points below Chelsea in fourth place.
Given that the competition is intense and closely contested, the details may determine the outcome, and among these details, set pieces are undoubtedly crucial.
Recently, Bournemouth have started to establish themselves among the elite teams in set pieces, as they are currently the third-highest scoring team from set plays in the Premier League, with seven goals.
This puts them at the level of Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham United, following Arsenal and Crystal Palace, who have scored nine and eight goals, respectively.
In this tactical analysis, we will highlight one aspect of their excellence in set pieces under manager Andoni Iraola and set-piece coach Shaun Cooper: their distinctive tactics in short corners.
Starting Near The Goalkeeper
The first idea we will discuss is starting without any short options, with the player who comes to receive the pass starting next to the goalkeeper, as in the case below.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) January 6, 2025
Here, Nottingham Forest defend zonally with a player (yellow) ready to defend the short corner and another (green) on the edge of the box for the rebound.
Three Bournemouth players start behind the defenders near the goalkeeper.
The blue player suddenly moves to receive the short pass, while an edge-of-the-box player (yellow arrow) moves to take the attention of the short-option defender.
This trick gives them ample space to receive the short pass in a dangerous position inside the box instead of starting with short-option players dragging defenders, making the short area crowded from the beginning.
In the photo below, the first zonal defender is forced to accompany him, while the other two attackers (pink) have different roles.
The first one goes ahead of the first remaining zonal defender (#6) to take his attention, while the other one moves to the near post.
Their starting position also may delay the m
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