Soaring Cherries leave De Zerbi soul searching

There were a few eyebrows raised when the Bournemouth owner, Bill Foley, said in December he was confident the club could qualify for Europe within five years but that prediction does not look at all outlandish now.

- Ed Aarons

Bournemouth 3
Senesi 13, Unal 52, Kluivert 87

Brighton 0

A comfortable victory thanks to goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal on his first Premier League start and Justin Kluivert means Andoni Iraola's side still have an outside chance of achieving that this season after totally outplaying a Brighton team who have clearly lost their way under Roberto De Zerbi.

In December, Foley - the American billionaire who has big plans for Bournemouth with a new 18,500-seater stadium in the pipeline-cited their south-coast rivals' participation in the Europa League this season as an example of what can be achieved with the right approach.

On this evidence, Iraola is certainly heading in the right direction.

"This group deserves to arrive at this point after the work they have put in," said the Bournemouth manager, whose side have now surpassed the club's record points total in the Premier League achieved under Eddie Howe in 2017 and face Arsenal in their next match. "The players have grown into the season and are finishing very well. But now we have a big challenge to see if we can continue to make progress."