Football

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth: Cherries miss out on Champions League qualification in Andoni Iraola's final game

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth: Cherries miss out on Champions League qualification in Andoni Iraola's final game

Bournemouth missed out on Champions League qualification in Andoni Iraola's final game in charge of the club after being held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, with other results not going their way on the last day of the season.

The Cherries were already assured of European football next season for the first time in the club's 127-year history, but they needed both Liverpool and Manchester City to beat Brentford and Aston Villa at home, with neither side winning.

Marcus Tavernier's smartly taken second-half effort cancelled out Morgan Gibbs-White's well-worked 34th-minute opener, the playmaker's 18th goal in all competitions this season, 15 coming in the Premier League, just days after hr was excluded from Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup squad.

As a result, Bournemouth ended the campaign sixth in the Premier League by extending their unbeaten league run to an impressive 18 games and will now compete in next season's Europa League under new boss Marco Rose.

The home side, meanwhile, ended the campaign in 16th, well clear of relegation, on what was an emotional day for Vitor Pereira's team and their fans following the unveiling of the new John Robertson stand in front of a whole host of club legends in attendance at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira:

"We [him and Gibbs-White] had a conversation. We can't do everything. We should do everything to get our targets and try to compete, the results we cannot control.

"He did everything to deserve to be in the national team, but in the end it is not his decision. He is disappointed of course because he scores goals, assists, he's a leader, talent and real connector. In the end he's in a country with a lot of strong players.

"In my opinion we created a true spirit. Now we have a good environment, we feel confidence in each other.

"I believe if we want to compete for different goals, we need to keep the best players. If not, it will be difficult to be consistent and build something stronger."

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola:

"I feel so happy because I could not ask for much more.

"I didn't want to lose today, I wanted to finish sixth. Also I wanted to finish the season without losing so we can do the second half of the season unbeaten. This is the most difficult achievement we've got.

"I enjoyed every second with the fans, with the players. It's nice to finish like this, something to celebrate. Honestly happy and in the changing room we were celebrating like we should.

"I knew it would be almost impossible to get Europe but the owner told me we want to stay in the Premier League, but I wanted Europe.

"For me to finish this season giving back to the owner, players, supporters, this European qualification is just one way of thanking everyone."

Already thinking about the 2026/27 Premier League season?

There's a to fit in first - follow live blogs of every game on the - but the for next term, when Your Site will once again show .

Here's your summer diary:

June 11: World Cup starts -

June 14:

June 15: Summer transfer window opens

June 17:

June 19: Premier League fixtures released (10am)

July 19: World Cup final

August 22-23: Premier League opening weekend

August 27: Champions League league phase draw

September 1: Transfer Deadline Day (window closes at 11pm UK time)

September 8-10: Champions League matchday 1

May 30, 2027: Premier League final day

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