Bournemouth 2-1 Man City: Cherries end City’s unbeaten run
Bournemouth 2-1 Man City: Cherries end City’s unbeaten run. Bournemouth has handed Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side to their first Premier League defeat in 11 months, ending the champions’ 32-game unbeaten streak with a spirited 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
Antoine Semenyo had given the home side an early lead following a brilliant performance at a loud Vitality Stadium, opening the scoring inside ten minutes before also playing a role in Evanilson’s second-half strike. The Cityzens were kept almost entirely at arm’s length, until Josko Gvardiol‘s 82nd-minute header which sparked a nervy conclusion.
The Cherries however clung on to their lead to not only end City’s unbeaten run, but seal the club’s first-ever victory in this fixture.
How did the game unfold?
Fresh from their first defeat of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek and an injury ravaged Manchester City’s side was swiftly rocked once more. Bournemouth dominated through the opening exchanges, forcing a raft of turnovers and two saves from Ederson within 90 seconds of kick off.
Semenyo only had to wait until the ninth minute to break the deadlock, shrugging off Gvardiol to control Milos Kerkez’s low cross before swivelling to fire the hosts into a deserved lead.
Andoni Iraola’s fired-up hosts are masters of mayhem, cantering through a chaotic opening 25 minutes as the champions did well to hang on. City belatedly and inevitability established some semblance of control, but struggled to penetrate Bournemouth’s robust rearguard which was always desperate to spring forward in transition.
City were denied a single shot on target in a first half which ended with cheers of ‘ole!’ from a buoyant Bournemouth crowd. The second 45 minutes almost began with another roar, only for Evanilson’s tame effort from ten yards almost straight after the restart prompting groans. Once again, Ederson had to bail out his teammates.
The Brazilian goalkeeper couldn’t get a glove on Evanilson’s 64th-minute effort. The hosts carried their greatest threat on the break but City were defensively set (in theory) when the move for Bournemouth’s goal began in their backline. Skipping around City’s understaffed right flank, equipped with an invisible Phil Foden and infirm Kyle Walker, Kerkez fired another excellent low cross which Evanilson poked beyond his compatriot at full stretch.
Adam Smith almost put the game out of sight within a matter a minutes. Following up Marcus Tavernier’s shot which clanked off the post, Bournemouth’s skipper shanked a hurried attempt high and wide of an empty goal.
Guardiola’s side didn’t force Mark Travers into a save until the final ten minutes. Subconsciously or otherwise, the Cherries had begun to sink deeper and deeper by that point, eventually giving in to a powerful header from Gvardiol in the 82nd minute.
Bournemouth didn’t look as comfortable during the chaos that rained down upon the game’s conclusion, frantically throwing bodies in front of the ball. Erling Haaland had a header from three yards pawed away by Travers before scuffing the rebound against the post.
As Haaland was left scratching his head, Bournemouth’s fans punched the air in jubilation at the end of a historic afternoon.
