Why Cherries must rediscover goal threat

[Getty Images] A remarkable eight-month sequence was ended at the weekend as Bournemouth suffered their first home defeat since champions Arsenal came away from Vitality Stadium with a 3-2 win on 3 January. To twist the knife a little further, the run was ended by Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, whose personal unbeaten run now stands at 25 games - the last 18 matches of last season with the Cherries (since that aforementioned defeat by Arsenal), and his first seven games as Reds boss. And Iraola's successor Marco Rose will know that, notwithstanding a 4-0 thumping of Lincoln in the EFL Cup, and that historic Europa League success at Real Sociedad last Thursday, the statistic about the Cherries not having won in the Premier League this season will not go away - until they do. The Liverpool game was the fewest shots on target (two) that a Cherries team under Rose has produced this season, and it was the first time this term that Bournemouth had not taken the lead. Losing Justin Kluivert to injury, where he joins last season's top scorer Eli Junior Kroupi in the treatment room, has arguably deprived Rose of the best two finishers in his squad. On the face of it, losing by the odd goal to Manchester City and Liverpool, while drawing with Everton, Newcastle and Brentford, should not be a reason to press the panic button just yet. It would be difficult to find a single Cherries fan who would have swapped that night in San Sebastian for any number of league points. But rediscovering a goal threat will be the priority when the international break ends and Bournemouth face seven games in the last 22 days of October. Explore Bournemouth content on BBC Sounds