Bournemouth fans were understandably thrilled after defeating the Premier League champions, a rare feat considering Manchester City is typically not the target of such celebrations. Andoni Iraola’s team will have to build on this result to prove themselves further.
City’s first league loss of the season highlighted their struggles, following a midweek defeat to Spurs in the cup that ended their unbeaten run.
Despite Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle earlier in the day, City never seemed ready to accept the championship race was over, even after losing 2-1 with Josko Gvardiol’s late goal offering little consolation.
The home side didn’t necessarily want the win more, but they worked harder for it, which isn’t typically associated with a Guardiola team.
City’s poor performance earned them exactly what they deserved. Guardiola expressed frustration on the touchline but remained measured in describing the team’s current issues.
Guardiola’s irritation has grown due to an ongoing injury crisis. While key players like Jeremy Doku, Kyle Walker, and Kevin De Bruyne returned for the Bournemouth match, the absences of John Stones and Ruben Dias added to the list.
City’s injury woes are compounded by the fact that they deliberately maintain a small squad, a strategy Guardiola prefers.
Data has shown that the team has averaged over 60 games per season since 2018, and with players like Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, and Ederson starting at Bournemouth, this is nothing new for City.
Despite this, playing with a depleted squad remains challenging, especially against a Bournemouth team that has already beaten Arsenal at home this season under Iraola’s leadership. It wasn’t surprising when Bournemouth celebrated the opening goal shortly after Ederson made a double save early on.
Milos Kerkez powered past Foden, and Antoine Semenyo outmuscled Josko Gvardiol to fire the ball into the corner. City players were a split second behind, but they couldn’t use that as an excuse.
City is used to falling behind this season, and their ability to bide their time and capitalize when the opportunity arises has been one of their strengths.
At Bournemouth, there were signs of this, but as has often been the case, City struggled to break down their opponents quickly. Whenever they gained some momentum, Bournemouth would swiftly undo their progress with quick counterattacks.
A moment in the second half encapsulated City’s frustration: after a failed attack, Walker gave away possession to Semenyo, fouled him, and punched the ball in anger. Guardiola gestured toward his bench, but with Nathan Ake unable to continue, Rico Lewis replaced him.
By the time Evanilson scored with a header from Kerkez’s cross in the second half, City was already 2-0 down. During tense injury time,Bournemouth’s taunting subsided, and Gvardiol scored a spectacular header to add some drama to the final minutes. However, City likely lacked the energy to mount a serious challenge, and they couldn’t protest the result of the game.
