Iraola lauds Ouattara following hat-trick heroics in Forest rout

Andoni Iraola believes that Dango Ouattara’s hat-trick against Nottingham Forest had been a long time coming after a string of impressive displays for Bournemouth in recent weeks.

Ouattara starred for the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, with his treble, along with goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo, helping the hosts to a 5-0 rout.

Bournemouth are now unbeaten in each of their last 11 Premier League games (W7 D4) – extending their longest run without defeat in the competition.

Meanwhile, the Cherries have recorded their biggest victory in the top-flight since April 2019 (5-0 vs Brighton), with their victory inspired by Ouattara’s hat-trick heroics.

Ouattara also became the first African player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League for Bournemouth, ending the contest at the top of many of the match statistics.

The Burkina Faso international registered the most shots on target (four), most touches in the opposition box (13) and a team-high expected goals (xG) total of 1.04.

“I think he has been very good, all the games, the four he has played as a number nine. I think he’s playing really well,” Iraola told BBC Match of the Day.

“He’s been a threat, plus he helps with the link-up play. We can use him in many positions.

“It was a great result. We knew we were facing a very good team on a very good run. Scoring first was key. Most of the last games they have been winning from the first half.

“The goal at the beginning helped us and made the game look better for us. I think we are not going to change. We are taking the games game by game. We have Liverpool next. We are thin on numbers, so we try to prepare players for that game.

“Still there are a lot of games to play. I will not change the approach we are taking.

“I hope they [the fans] are enjoying themselves. It’s always difficult when you are in the Premier League. You are facing the best teams in the country.”

For Nuno Espirito Santo and Forest, meanwhile, their eight-game winning run in the Premier League came to a halt on the South Coast.

Though still in the top four, victories for Newcastle United and Bournemouth themselves have seen the race for the Champions League places become even tighter.

Forest have conceded three or more goals in each of their last four Premier League defeats (14 goals combined), while they have suffered their biggest defeat in the competition since a 5-0 loss away at Fulham in December 2023.

Nuno bemoaned his side’s inability to defend against their opponents’ five-star attack, suggesting his team looked fragile after an impressive recent run of form.

“Nobody expected a game like this. Bournemouth were better than us. We did a lot of things wrong. When we are blocked and compact and give spaces, it is harder,” he said.

“We are unbalanced, and we didn’t defend well. In the second half, we tried to correct things and put things right, but we didn’t react. The second half was very bad.

“We have to realise the things we did well until now, we have to do them. When we don’t do those things, we are a very fragile team.

“Football is our life. Today is not a happy day, of course.”