“HE Needs to leave my Club this moment with immediate effect I don’t want to see him anylonger – Pep Guardiola has instructed Manchester City FLOP to leave the Club after having less touches than the Goalkeeper and also giving away the ball to opponents.
Manchester City is rarely treated to such a cry, so Bournemouth fans might be forgiven for being overjoyed as they celebrated their victory over the Premier League champions. Based on this data, Andoni Iraola’s side will have to organize a line.
Pep Guardiola and his team’s undefeated streak came to an end in midweek against Spurs in the cup, while the Blues suffered their first league defeat of the season, emphasising their struggles. If anybody was tempted to proclaim the championship battle dead following Arsenal’s midday setback to Newcastle, City never seemed like giving it any credence, despite a Josko Gvardiol consolation as they lost 2-1.
It was a poor effort from City that got exactly what it deserved, with the home team not necessarily wanting it more but working harder for it – something you would not expect from a Guardiola club. The manager exhibited some irritation on the sidelines, but he was controlled given how much the club is battling right now.
Guardiola has grown more dissatisfied with an injury list that shows few indications of improvement. City’s manager has emphasized the importance of his players playing through injury this week, but even as Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku returned to the squad for Bournemouth, John Stones and Ruben Dias joined the list of absentees.
There is not much that can be done, though; City are not the first club to suffer injuries, and the problem is aggravated by the fact that they purposely keep their roster small since that is what Guardiola loves. According to a recent research, the players have averaged more than 60 games every season since 2018, and not only were seven of the top ten City players, but four of them – Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, and Ederson – began their careers at the Vitality, indicating that this is nothing new.
That does not make it any easier to traverse, especially on a gloomy day on the south coast against Bournemouth, who have previously defeated Arsenal here this season. Iraola has brought them to the next level, and after Ederson made two saves in the second minute, it was no surprise that Bournemouth scored first.
Milos Kerkez raced past Foden, and Antoine Semenyo held off Josko Gvardiol to turn and place the ball in the far corner, delighting the home crowd. City players could not use that as an excuse, but they were just a split second behind the pace.
This season, City has become accustomed to falling behind, and one of their most notable recent qualities has been the ability to wait for their openings and attack when it matters. There were indications of it at Bournemouth, but the moment any promising foundations were laid, they were swept away in one or two Bournemouth passes; as has frequently been the case this season, it has taken City longer to break down a team than to be broken.
It spoke a lot when City’s second-half pressure crumbled and Walker made a mess of it, losing control to Semenyo before fouling him and slamming the ball in rage. Guardiola signaled to his bench, and while Rico Lewis came in, Nathan Ake was unable to continue.
Already 2-0 down at this point after Evanilson converted a Kerkez cross midway through the second half, it felt as if City’s bucket had too many holes to keep it from emptying.
Gvardiol added to his impressive goal tally with a thunderous header in the last 15 minutes, and the Bournemouth insults subsided during a tense stretch of injury time. Even if City had any issues about the game, they probably would not have had the stamina to express them.
