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. 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 having already invested more than £200m – 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.
