Manchester City suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, ending their long unbeaten run in the Premier League.
The 32-game sequence without defeat stretched back nearly a year and few would have expected the Cherries to the be the side to end it, but Andoni Iraola’s side were full value for their victory.
Bournemouth had taken points off Aston Villa and Arsenal in previous weeks and from the outset seemed confident of making it three Champions League scalps in as many games. Within two minutes Ederson had been forced to make smart saves to deny Antoine Semenyo and then Justin Kluivert, following a quick Bournemouth counter-attack.
The Cherries were aggressive, sharp and direct all afternoon and it was no surprise when the hosts took the lead. Milos Kerkez bypassed Phil Foden down the Bournemouth left and centred the ball to the waiting Semeyno, who took a touch, held off Josko Gvardiol, and fired low and hard into the bottom corner. Ederson stood no chance.
It continues City’s unwanted penchant for conceding first this season (five in 10) and a worrying lack of clean sheets (just two in the league). Lacking several big names, City looked off the pace and susceptible on the break.
The champions’ best spell came in the final 15 minutes of the opening period, with Foden exerting greater control. But there was no breakthrough strike before the break, with Bernardo Silva seeing a powerful effort blocked by Kerkez, before Haaland controlled excellently from a Matheus Nunes shot but steered his attempt off target.
The half ended to chants of ‘ole’ from the Bournemouth fans as their side passed it round the champions. They so nearly had something else to cheer about when play resumed after the interval as Evanilson fired at goal. Again, Ederson threw a hopeful leg at the ball and managed to block the shot.
But he could do nothing to deny the Bournemouth striker finishing off a rapid attack by tapping in at the back post following a Semenyo cross in the 64th minute. Guardiola couldn’t believe what he was watching, as he exasperatedly threw out his arms and put his hands on his head.
City simply couldn’t deal with Bournemouth and it could have been more when Marcus Tavernier cut inside and wrapped a shot off the post, before Adam Smith sent the follow-up high over the crossbar. Then Brooks hit the side netting as a home victory looked increasingly certain.
It took City until the 80th minute to manage a shot on target, with Mark Travers comfortably saving Haaland’s finish on the stretch. But by the 82nd minute it was 2-1, as Ilkay Gundogan picked out Josko Gvardiol and his bullet header flew into the net.
City seemed to reserve all their chances for the final stages, with Travers needed to keep out Doku and Haaland as the clock ticked beyond 90. Foden had one final effort in the sixth minute of injury-time but it flashed wide to the joy of the vast majority inside the Vitality. The full-time whistle went soon after, as City fell to a second loss in just four days and Bournemouth earned a first-ever victory against the Blues.
Here’s how we rated the players...
1. Ederson- 7
The scoreline could, and would, have been much worse had it not been for the City keeper. He made three good saves to deny the Cherries, although his kicking was a little sloppy at times.
2. Kyle Walker- 3
The experienced defender hasn't endured many more difficult days in a City shirt. Walker simply could not deal with Semeyo down the Bournemouth left and he was booked for a foul on the winger. On a woeful afternoon, both goals came down the City right and he was fortunate not to be replaced.
3. Manuel Akanji- 5
Misplaced a few passes but wasn't among the worst of City's players in a disappointing team performance.
4. Nathan Ake- 5 (off 73)
Struggled to cope with Evanilson and was far from his best. Ake seemed to be limping as he was replaced in the latter stages.