Sky Sports reporter highlights six eye-opening stats where Iraola outperformed Slot in 2025/26 | OneFootball

If Arne Slot’s Liverpool were one of the biggest underachievers of the 2025/26 Premier League season, then Bournemouth under Andoni Iraola were among the prominent overachievers.

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The teams shared a win apiece in their head-to-head meetings, but surely nobody would’ve predicted at the outset that the Cherries would finish the campaign just three points and one position behind the Reds, who began as defending champions.

That goes a long way to explaining why the Dutchman has since been sacked at Anfield, and why his Spanish counterpart is now the firm favourite to fill the vacancy in L4.

(Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Iraola outperformed Slot for six key metrics in 2025/26

During an update on Iraola’s potential appointment at Liverpool, Sky Sports reporter Alan Myers addresses six eye-catching statistics for which Bournemouth notably outperformed the Reds during the most recent Premier League season.

The Cherries won significantly more duels and made far more tackles than Slot’s team, while also regaining possession with much greater regularity.

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Could Iraola bring back Liverpool’s lost intensity?

One of the biggest criticisms of Liverpool in 2025/26 was a lack of intensity on the pitch and how easily they were played through the midfield, in stark contrast to the relentless gegenpressing of the Jurgen Klopp era.

Iraola’s Bournemouth were renowned not just for hard work out of possession, but for winning the ball back high up the pitch, a quality which was all too lacking in the Reds during the most recent campaign.

Staff members and former players at the Vitality Stadium have spoken about the 43-year-old’s ‘driven’ nature and extreme dedication to the job, holding daily training sessions and working long hours in the pursuit of excellence.

Expectations will obviously be much higher at Liverpool than they had been with the Cherries, but if indeed the Spaniard is appointed at Anfield, he’ll have very much earned a crack at leading one of the most famous clubs in world football, not just England.

If Iraola turns the Reds into a more intense, hard-working team out of possession whilst overseeing a fluid, effective and often victorious attacking outfit, he’ll be adored by the Kop in no time!