Andoni Iraola challenged his Bournemouth players to finish the season in style after they wrote themselves into Cherries history with a 3-0 win over Brighton.
Iraola’s in-form side won the battle for south-coast supremacy thanks to goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert.
Victory lifted Bournemouth into the top 10 and saw them break their record points haul in the top flight, surpassing the 46 they managed under Eddie Howe in 2016-17.
When Brighton won the reverse fixture at the end of September they moved up to third, while Bournemouth were still searching for their first win under Iraola.
But the Seagulls have now wilted to 12th, their European ambitions well and truly extinguished, while Bournemouth are proving to be the late-season bloomers.
“This group deserves to arrive at this point, especially after how we started, the players have been growing into the season,” said Iraola.
“It was a very complete performance, to play Brighton is very difficult and we were very disciplined.
“We are finishing strong, we are improving as a team and getting more players from the squad involved.
“We have to recover this week and try to get in the best spot to fight in some difficult games. We want to finish strongly. We have the club record, but the players want to keep pushing.”
Senesi headed Bournemouth ahead from a 13th-minute corner and Unal’s towering header doubled the lead after the break.
Simon Adingra forced a stunning save from Cherries keeper Mark Travers before Kluivert added the gloss with a late third.
The only downside was a knee injury suffered by Antoine Semenyo which forced the midfielder off on a stretcher in stoppage time.
“It looks bad. We will have to see how bad,” added Iraola.
It is now six matches without a win for Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton.
“Tough performance, tough result,” was the Italian’s verdict.
“We are sorry for the performance and for this moment, but we are not able to give our best and our best is not enough to compete in the Premier League.
“It can happen in football to lose the motivation to reach a target. We need to find the energy to finish the season in a different way. I’m suffering a lot. We have to stop this moment quickly.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Let's see at the statistics of the 4 Lords. And Man City are back. PSG are reportedly helping save Lyon from RELEGATION to Ligue 2! PALMEIRAS BEAT BOTAFOGO IN EXTRA TIME TO REACH THE LAST EIGHT OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have The HARDEST ROUTE to The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup FINAL! It took a long delay and extra time, but Chel...
Williams demands guarantee from Barca amid fears of Olmo situationAccording to Marca, Nico Williams has reportedly informed Athletic Club through his agent that he wants to don the Barcelona shirt from next season and is close to signing a six-year contract. However, the player reportedly wants a guarantee from Barca that they will be able to register him with La Liga after triggering his release ...
ATLANTA -- Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique warned his players against ignoring the offensive threats of Inter Miami in Sunday's Club World Cup round-of-16 match, emphasizing the damage that can be done by experienced stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets."Anyone who relaxes for 10 seconds in football already knows where they are. It's not like there's no dou...
Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for a third successive season in 2024-25 – but the fact that Liverpool leapfrogged them was undoubtedly frustrating.In 2022-23, the Gunners were runners-up with 84 points, five points behind champions Manchester City. A year later, they improved to 89 points, closing the gap to Pep Guardiola's side to two points.The 2024-25 campaign looked like t...
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly keen to bring in his former colleague Acacio Valentim as part of a coaching reshuffle.The Portuguese boss is eager to avoid another disappointing season following a wretched first year in charge. In his debut season, Amorim led the Red Devils to a 14th place finish in the Premier League and suffered defeat in the Europa League final against Spur...
Cristiano Ronaldo to join up with Portuguese boss at Al-NassrAl-Nassr have reached an agreement with veteran Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus and look set to announce him as their new manager.The Saudi Pro League club have been looking for a new manager following Stefano Pioli’s decision to step down and return to Italy with Fiorentina.Jesus, 70, who left Al-Hilal at the end of the 2024-25 campa...
Raphinha keen to see Nico Williams at BarcelonaBarcelona winger Raphinha was full of praise for reported target Nico Williams as the club step up their pursuit of the Spain international.Barcelona are working tirelessly to bring the 22-year-old to the Camo Nou having been heavily linked with him for the past two years.Williams is understood to be keen on the move but his current club, Athletic, ar...
Alexander-Arnold: Real Madrid won't take Juventus lightlyTrent Alexander-Arnold says Real Madrid players are determined to win the Club World Cup.Real will meet Juventus in the tournament's round of 16 this weekend.New fullback signing Alexander-Arnold declared: "Both are very good teams (City and Juve), not least because they made it through the group stage."It's always going to be tough, no matt...
Pogba drops fresh Monaco move teaser onlinePaul Pogba has hinted he's set to undergo his medical with AS Monaco.The France international is due to sign for Monaco as a free agent after he passes his medical tests in the Principality.Pogba has dropped a hint on social media about his activities amid reports that he is due in France this weekend to complete his return to football.Pogba posted a self...
Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World CupBarcelona ace Raphinha has criticised the sheer number of game top clubs are having to play as the FIFA Club World Cup reaches the latter stages.Barcelona missed out on a place in the FIFA Club World Cup due to their poor performances in recent Champions League campaign.Raphinha doesn’t appear to be too bothered, however, hitting...
- 1 Club World Cup 2025: Benfica v Chelsea predictions, best bets and odds
- 2 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 3 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 4 Arsenal interested in signing Cristhian Mosquera
- 5 Wayne Rooney gets Erling Haaland ponytail in shock new look
- 6 Arsenal have little chance of Liverpool target
- 7 Man United close in on Bryan Mbeumo
- 8 Chelsea transfer at 'final stages'
- 9 Man Utd close in on Bryan Mbeumo! Red Devils agree £60m+ fee with Brentford as Premier League rivals iron out final transfer details
- 10 Salzburg vs Real Madrid Prediction 27 June 2025