Andoni Iraola does not believe Bournemouth are safe yet despite ending a seven-game winless Premier League run with a 2-0 victory over Burnley.
The Clarets and Sheffield United are cut adrift at the bottom and the Cherries are now sitting in 13th place, 11 points clear of Luton in 18th.
“I’m satisfied with the situation that we have a gap of 11 points, it’s very good, it’s important,” said the Bournemouth boss.
“But we still need more wins, we still need more points. I feel that Luton, they have very good spirit, they fight every game and they can make a good run.”
Burnley dominated possession and chances but the two moments of real quality came from Bournemouth, with Justin Kluivert opening the scoring in the 13th minute and Antoine Semenyo making sure of the win two minutes from time.
Iraola was left with mixed feelings, saying: “Obviously I’m happy because we needed this win. For sure we played worse than the last games we’ve played, but we’ll take the win.
“I was disappointed with the performance in the first half. We made adjustments and the second half was much better from our side.”
The negative was a hamstring injury suffered early in the first half by key defender Marcos Senesi.
“I think it’s a clear strain in the hamstring,” said Iraola. “I hope it’s not very big.
“It’s a very bad moment for us because we don’t have too many defenders right now. Also for him personally because he has been called again with Argentina. I know that is something important for him.”
Burnley have now gone 10 games without a victory, conceding a combined 10 goals without reply in their last three.
Manager Vincent Kompany felt the performance was a substantial improvement on last weekend’s 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, saying: “I did think we put in the energy that we needed.
“We created I think more shots and chances than in any of the games we’ve played in the Premier League so far this season. And even after conceding the goal, we carried on.
“But the frustration is something that has to substitute into the next game. What we can’t drop is the energy levels we had today.”
Kompany bemoaned the consistency of officiating after Josh Cullen had a second-half effort ruled out for a foul by Jacob Bruun Larsen.
“In the context of this game, you can allow or disallow this goal and have kind of a 50-50 divide,” he said.
“But, if you zoom out a little bit and put this goal against the goal we conceded against Luton, impeding a player while you’re not making contact with the ball, it’s exactly what happened in reverse.
“So in that moment you don’t give a foul and in this moment you do. That side of it is difficult to handle this season.”
Burnley have now lost 11 of their 14 league matches at Turf Moor this season and boos were audible at the final whistle.
“That’s after every defeat in every club,” said Kompany. “It’s football.
“But as long as they’re there from the start, which it was, and throughout the game they support you, that’s part of the things you have to be able to deal with and eventually it all comes back in a positive way.”
Nuno encouraged by Forest's attitude and commitment, despite Man City defeat
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Nottingham Forest will "achieve what we want" by replicating the attitude demonstrated during their defeat by Manchester City.
Forest went down 2-0 against their title-chasing opponents at the City Ground, and remain just a point clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining.
Despite the defeat, the hosts produced a spirited performance against Pep Guardiola's side, while registering 14 shots on goal compared to 11 from the Citizens - meaning they had had more shots in both meetings this season.
Forest face already relegated Sheffield United, Chelsea and fellow strugglers Burnley in their final three games, and Nuno has seen enough to be confident of securing the Reds' Premier League status for another year.
"We played a good game, were compact, organised and had chances," he told Sky Sports. "We did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City, and the players gave it a big go.
"We are disappointed with the result, but the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important.
"We stay positive, and we go for the next three games. With this attitude, we will achieve what we want."
Defender Moussa Niakhate echoes his manager's thoughts, adding: "We had three big chances in the first half, but we didn't score. That was the difference.
"Everybody is working hard. We can be proud. If we perform like this in the next three games, we'll stay up."
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Gvardiol: Four more finals for City in title fight
Josko Gvardiol believes there are "four more finals" for Manchester City between them and the Premier League title.
City won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday thanks to a first-half header from Gvardiol before a 71st-minute Erling Haaland finish wrapped up the points.
The victory moves City one point behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. The Gunners played earlier on Sunday, winning 3-2 at north London rivals Tottenham.
The destination of the Premier League title remains in City's hands as they bid for a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, and Gvardiol acknowledged that every game between now and the end of the season is vital.
"We need to be focused on ourselves," Gvardiol told Sky Sports. "That’s what we are doing.
"There are four more finals to the end so let's do it."
Gvardiol's goal set City on course for victory at the City Ground, nodding home from Kevin De Bruyne's inswinging corner.
It was only Gvardiol's second Premier League goal since arriving at City from RB Leipzig prior to this season.
Gvardiol was somewhat surprised to get on the scoresheet, saying: "I didn't expect to score, but I found myself in a good position.
"It was really tough especially as the pitch was really dry. It's a more than important three points."
Pep Guardiola was delighted to come away with the three points against a Forest side fighting for their lives at the bottom, with the defeat to City leaving Nuno Espirito Santo's men in a perilous position, just a point above the relegation zone with three games to play.
"It was a difficult game," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "They played with bravery. They have fast players with a lot of quality.
"It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. These games are so, so tough at this stage in the Premier League. Now we have a long week to recover."
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