ANDONI Iraola’s Cherries played a ‘close to 100 per cent’ game against Manchester City as they stunned their visitors, winning 2-1.

AFC Bournemouth led 1-0 at half time thanks to an early Antoine Semenyo goal, before doubling their lead with just under half an hour to play.

City got one back through Josko Gvardiol, but Bournemouth held on to beat the Citizens for the first time in their history.

Speaking to the media after the game, Iraola said it felt great to beat City.

“I think it's very difficult to beat City. You have to enjoy it at least today,” he said.

“Tomorrow we will start thinking on Brentford.

“But apart from the result, I'm very, very proud of the performance. I think to beat them, I think deservedly, is even more difficult.

“Even if we suffered until the end because they pushed us in the last minutes, I think we deserve this one.”

(Image: Richard Crease) The Basque boss has said previously that he and his staff have been speaking to the players about adding goals in the opening 15 minutes of games, and notched their first today through Semenyo, after nine minutes.

Getting the early goal ‘definitely helped’ to unsettle the visitors to the Vitality Stadium, Iraola said.

“I think against this kind of opposition, there has to be a moment where not only for your confidence, also for them, they have to start to think that maybe they don't win today because they normally win all the time,” he said.

“So you have to find a moment where they can think, ‘hey, careful’, and obviously when you score first, I think it becomes an uncomfortable game for them.”

Previewing the game yesterday, Iraola told the Daily Echo that his side must put in a 100 per cent performance to even think of getting a result, and often against City that could not be enough.

Asked if the performance against the defending champions was almost better than a 100 per cent game, Iraola laughed: “No, I think more than 100 is impossible.

So, it was very close to this. Very, very close.

“We need both things. We need close to the 100 from us and probably them not to have the best of their days even then.

(Image: Richard Crease) “Even playing this game, if they scored the last one from Haaland, you don't beat them because they are so good. But the first part was non-negotiable.

“If we don't play very, very close to our best level it’s impossible.”

The victory takes the Cherries up to eighth in the league, having picked up seven points from the last three games against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City.

On that points haul, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “I'm not going to lie, we didn't expect seven points.

“Definitely we didn't expect these points.

“But it's true, that it’s not the end of anything, we have to recover tomorrow and next week we go Brentford away.

“The way they are playing at home, it's going to be a very, very difficult game again and we have to continue to try to give us chances because it's going to be very difficult.

“This is the Premier League.

“To win one game in the Premier League against any team is very difficult.

“You have to do a lot of things well. So, we have to continue because we need more points and we want to continue building and take advantage because we've got these points now against these teams.

“So, let's try to take this advantage and not lose it straight away.”