Bournemouth 2-1 Man City: Champions stunned as Cherries pull off shock victory

Manchester City suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, with the champions failing to make the most of a loss to Arsenal earlier on Saturday.

City watched the Gunners slip to a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle earlier in the day. That meant they remained five points apart, allowing City to extend that gap to eight if they beat the Cherries.

But they were down on resources, with multiple players injured and some even playing through pain.

The Premier League champions were evidently not their usual dominant selves, and went 1-0 down through an Antoine Semenyo goal in the ninth minute.

Bournemouth doubled their lead in the second half, with Evanilson turning the ball past Ederson in the City net.

In the 82nd minute, Josko Gvardiol’s goal gave City hope of a comeback, as did late attempts from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

But neither attacker was able to find the back of the net, and City were dealt their first loss of the season.

City only lost three times last season, too, and after the match, manager Pep Guardiola suggested a run of games without a loss was something his side would have liked to have sustained, but they have to pick themselves up after being unable to do so.

“We would like to keep defending it but how many games and months we did it… it’s great,” he said.

“We have another game in two days in Portugal and we have to go again.”

The City boss also hailed the quality of the Bournemouth side, while bemoaning his lack of options due to injury troubles.

“They were difficult to play in the first half. We knew how they would play. It was well-deserved. The guys give everything because after nine years together they always will,” he said.

“Kyle [Walker], 16 days didn’t train with us until yesterday. Nathan [Ake] made an incredible effort, it’s not just about that [injuries].”

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