“I knew…” – Bournemouth manager told players to exploit one Man United star’s weakness

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola told his players to exploit the weakness of one Manchester United star during the game last weekend.

The Reds drew 2-2 against Iraola’s side at the Vitality Stadium, essentially removing them from the conversation for Champions League qualification.

Erik ten Hag’s side have faced major difficulties in the Premier League this season. They currently sit seventh and will be wary of falling lower in the standings before the end of the campaign.

Bournemouth were one of several teams to take advantage of United’s missteps under Ten Hag this term and it has been revealed that they targetted one specific weakness of a certain player.

Whilst there have been many underperforming stars at Old Trafford, it was actually a tendency from André Onana, a player who has been one of the standout players in the last six months, that was picked up on.

Onana was beaten at his near post when Justin Kluivert scored Bournemouth’s second goal, and the goalscorer revealed that his manager told him to take advantage of Onana’s weakness in those situations.

“I was waiting for this pass, because I had already seen that there was a lot of space,” Kluivert told ViaPlay. “So when I got the ball, I only had one thing in mind. And that was to shoot at goal.

“The funny thing about this is that I remembered what the manager said. (Iraola told me) ‘Onana, near post’. So when I got the ball, I knew I was going to shoot into the near post. And, in the end, it was a nice goal.

“The manager gives me tips, and I listen to them perfectly.”

This season, Onana has often been peppered with shots, with teams regularly registering 20 or more shots against his goal each game.

Getting down low to his sides does seem to be a weakness of Onana, with the goalkeeper opting against using his feet like David de Gea used to.

He will hope to improve in that aspect and also that his team will strengthen and not concede so many dangerous chances.