After a horror start, suddenly unstoppable: a German coach has created a feared pressing monster in the Premier League

Eight straight wins in competitive matches. Dreams of silverware. A Brazilian turning heads and rivalling Erling Haaland. Marco Rose's AFC Bournemouth may be Europe's hottest team, yet just a few weeks ago, it would hardly have been surprising if the German coach had come under pressure.

"We were playing good football, I never had to justify myself at the club, everyone believed in our approach," Marco Rose recently told kicker. He had never feared for his job despite a poor start to his first Premier League season in terms of results. AFC Bournemouth took just three points from their first six league games and were still 18th, in the relegation zone, in mid-October.

A month later, Rose's side have won their last eight competitive matches, taken three points in four successive Premier League games and climbed to seventh, the part of the table where they want to establish themselves.

Bournemouth's hierarchy held their nerve through Rose's difficult first few weeks, when many other clubs might have put him under pressure. That decision is paying off, and a closer look at his start shows why it made sense.

For Rose, who signed a contract on England's south coast until 2029 in the spring, the job came with a difficult inheritance. His predecessor Andoni Iraola, who left for Liverpool in the summer, had established Bournemouth in England's top flight over the previous three years and made history along the way. Having returned to the Premier League only in 2022, the Cherries finished 12th under Iraola, then ninth and, last season, sixth. It was the best finish in the club's history and took Bournemouth into European competition for the first time.

With the successful Iraola era still fresh in everyone's minds, Rose's first job outside Germany or Austria got off to a poor start. The fixture list offers one explanation. Bournemouth opened away at Manchester City, then faced Everton, Newcastle United away and Brentford. Matches against Liverpool and Chelsea followed.

That schedule gave a team learning a new coach's ideas little room for error. In several matches that brought disappointing results, Bournemouth had little luck and compounded it with avoidable individual mistakes.

"We probably should have had three to six more points," Rose said, looking back on the poor start. "What was particularly frustrating was the way we conceded some late goals: slapstick, individual errors." At City, Bournemouth led 1-0 until the 84th minute and came close to an upset. Then Marc Guehi found enough space to head in an equaliser from a corner, and Josko Gvardiol scored the winner for the Sky Blues in stoppage time.

Against Everton a week later, Bournemouth almost had their first win before Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie got in each other's way instead of clearing a corner. Everton's James Tarkowski took advantage with a late stoppage-time equaliser. "Set pieces, for example, were something we had already been working on," Rose said. Those problems, including their defending of dead balls, have since improved. "It was a process, and we've now become very solid on both sides of the ball in that respect."

Having squandered a 2-0 lead at Newcastle on matchday three and conceded another late equaliser, Bournemouth lost points against Brentford on matchday four when goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic made a bad mistake. Germany international Kevin Schade punished it ruthlessly. A 1-0 defeat by Liverpool followed, then a 5-1 loss at Chelsea in early October, their only truly worrying setback.

Rose called the Stamford Bridge defeat "a heavy blow". After decent performances but very few points, it could have sent the season in a dangerous direction. Bournemouth responded by winning.

After the Chelsea game, they had "found the last five per cent — that was important", Rose said. They have won all eight games since, including three successive 3-0 victories against AC Milan in the Europa League, Manchester United away in the Premier League and Aston Villa in the League Cup.

"The coach has shaped us well into this team, and now we know what he really expects of us. He wants movement in attack, he wants us to press high," centre-forward Evanilson recently told the Daily Mail. The Brazilian drives Rose's high-intensity football from the front, pressing opposition defenders until he wins the ball himself or forces a mistake.

Both goals in the recent 2-1 win at Ipswich Town before the international break showed his value. For the goal that made it 2-0, Evanilson anticipated a back pass and won the ball high up the pitch, starting a move that ended with a Leif Davis own goal from a Ryan Christie effort. Earlier, he had pressured Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton near the edge of the six-yard box, stolen the ball and slotted in the opener.

At 27, and with two Brazil appearances in 2024, Evanilson looks ideally suited to Rose's pressing style. Bournemouth have scored eight goals from errors they have forced opponents into in this Premier League season, twice as many as the next-best team by that measure. Evanilson either won the ball or scored for six of those eight goals.

His scoring run now stretches to five league games. With nine direct goal involvements already, Evanilson is the Premier League's joint leading scorer alongside City superstar Erling Haaland. His opener against Ipswich also showed how well the players behind him understand Rose's approach: Marcus Tavernier, Tyler Adams and Justin Kluivert blocked Walton's other passing routes, leaving Evanilson free to close him down.

Only second-placed Brighton & Hove Albion have won the ball more often in the attacking third so far. The Cherries also lead the Premier League with four goals stemming from those high turnovers.

At the other end, Bournemouth have conceded just two goals in their last eight competitive matches, a run that began with six consecutive clean sheets. Rose said the difficult start taught them "that sometimes you have to find simple solutions". He explained: "That's something we were generally able to adapt in the first few weeks in the Premier League: goal kicks, playing out from the back, the way teams press. Sometimes you perhaps have to get the ball into the opposition's half without fuss and try to establish yourself there."

Nevertheless, "the footballing side is important. We've managed to strike that balance," Rose said. His squad can combine quality and occasional directness on the ball with constant intensity without it. Evanilson, his highly talented Brazilian compatriot Rayan, Netherlands international Justin Kluivert and club figurehead Marcus Tavernier give the attacking line technical finesse, dynamism and the willingness to run that Rose's high press demands.

Tavernier, in particular, has caught the eye. The 27-year-old has scored five times in the Premier League in 2026/27, presses exceptionally well and repeatedly cuts in from the left towards the centre of the penalty area. Could he be one for England manager Thomas Tuchel? "You'll have to ask Thomas," Rose said recently, adding: "But I think several of the lads have put themselves forward, and Marcus in particular gives us a great deal. He's playing more in the half-space now, makes good runs through, and you mentioned getting players into the box."

Rose also inherited a settled, cohesive team. Only one key player left: defensive leader Marcos Senesi joined Tottenham on a free transfer after his contract expired. Portugal international Antonio Silva, signed from Benfica for a €25 million fee, has adequately replaced him.

That stability came with squad depth. Alex Scott, the highest-quality midfielder, missed the impressive past few weeks and is now returning from a thigh injury. Attacking prospect Junior Kroupi returned from a foot injury at the end of October and gives Rose another option up front, as does former Leverkusen player Amine Adli, who was also initially injured.

In their recent run of four successive Premier League wins, Bournemouth faced weaker opponents than in their first six matches: struggling AFC Sunderland and Manchester United, along with Leeds United and promoted Ipswich. They already have several heavyweights behind them, while their next two assignments after the international break, Nottingham at home and Fulham away, offer chances to extend the run.

Between those league games, Bournemouth travel to Celta Vigo in the Europa League. Rose has already made history with his new club in the competition: Bournemouth are only the second English club, and the first since Liverpool more than 60 years ago (1964), to win the first four European matches in their history.

Those wins came 2-1 at Real Sociedad, 3-0 at home to Sturm Graz and Milan, and most recently 3-1 at Sparta Prague. Bournemouth sit second in the league-phase table, on course to qualify directly for the last 16. Could they even win the Europa League and reach the Champions League for the first time next season by what is probably an easier route than the league? "No, I'm absolutely not thinking about that," Rose said.

Instead, the 50-year-old wants to focus on "reaching the last 16 without going through the play-off round, because every match fewer helps us this season". He would have no objection to building on Iraola's foundations in the south of England and going one better. After a difficult start, Bournemouth have given themselves the chance.