I don’t think they can afford to rest him - Bournemouth defeat showed the importance of absent Man City star

When the Manchester City players made their way off the team bus on Saturday afternoon there were a few audible gasps from the assembled crowd outside the Vitality Stadium.

In the previous week, Pep Guardiola had ruled Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku out until after the November international break, but all three emerged from the City-branded team bus to a murmur of shock.

There were more surprises to come. No John Stones and Ruben Dias in the squad, despite neither of the defenders really considered doubts prior to the game. And then a final twist as the line-ups were confirmed. Guardiola had said on Wednesday that Rico Lewis was the only player he couldn’t rest at the moment, yet the teenager inevitably was named among the substitutes against Bournemouth.

The City boss made a laughing stock of any pre-match team news or predicted line-ups, but he wasn’t smiling after the game. The Blues were second best all afternoon on the south coast - Guardiola even admitted that - and City didn’t manage a shot on target until the 80th minute as their 32-game unbeaten league run came to a crushing end.

The post-match stats showed the champions had amassed 65 percent possession, but in reality they lacked their usual level of control and domination. There was no penetration, no incision; that so many shots were taken from distance told its own story.

“They haven’t let us play,” was the half-time verdict of one observer with a City affiliation, and an inability to zip the ball around and unsettle Bournemouth was a huge issue. It’s on days like this that Rodri’s absence is so keenly felt. As was Lewis’.

Without the teenager in the side, City lacked a defensive option pushing into midfield. Lewis does that habituality when starting at right-back, Stones has perfected it in the past, while Manuel Akanji has also been known to carry out a similar role. It’s a regular feature of Guardiola’s tactics, but on Saturday the Catalan opted to play with a traditional back four and the only real advances from deep areas came via Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol on the wings.

It meant there was no midfield overload, and Mateo Kovacic looked stretched all afternoon. That has been a recurring issue this season, as has the inability to keep clean sheets and stop counter-attacks, while City’s penchant for falling behind finally caught up with them.

Guardiola vowed to find the solution without Rodri when his season-ending injury emerged in September, but so far an effective remedy hasn’t been pinpointed yet. That’s why Lewis’ importance is only increasing. Along with Ilkay Gundogan he’s the only player at Guardiola’s disposal who is capable of controlling the pace of the game from a deeper area.

It has been a remarkable rise for Lewis, who answered questions about his future in the summer, started just eight league games last season and played eight minutes across the final five games of City’s 2023/24 title run-in. 

Now he seems the most natural fit at right-back - and that’s above the experienced Kyle Walker. That City produced four shots on target in the 17 minutes (plus added-time) after Lewis’ introduction from the bench at Bournemouth also highlighted his impact. So too does the fact that City have failed to win both of the two league games when the England international has started this term, while they have won seven of eight with him in the team.

And while criticism has been levelled - somewhat fairly - at Lewis following recent defensive errors, his impact on the ball far outweighs those deficiencies.

So once again, it seems like Guardiola was right. Lewis does feel like the one player he can’t afford to rest.