Bournemouth 2-1 Man City (November 2, 2024) Match Analysis

Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson got on the scoresheet as the hosts secured an impressive 2-1 win over champions Manchester City on Saturday, ending the visitors' 32-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

The defeat left Pep Guardiola's City – which had not lost in the league since a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on December 6, 2023 – second in the table with 23 points after 10 games, two points behind Liverpool.

With the first win over City in the club's history, Andoni Iraola's team climbed to eighth place with 15 points.

Bournemouth were rewarded for their strong start with Semenyo's ninth-minute goal. Milos Kerkez played the ball brilliantly down the left side to the baseline before sending a low cross to Semenyo, who turned and beat goalkeeper Éderson.

Evanilson doubled the lead in the 64th minute when he latched onto a cross from Kerkez and fired into the goal.

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

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City, struggling with injuries to key players, ensured a nervy finish after conceding a goal in the 82nd minute when Josko Gvardiol leapt at a cross from Ilkay Gündogan, whose header was blasted onto the crossbar by Mark Travers.

That came two minutes after City's top scorer Erling Haaland had his side's first shot on target and the visitors kept the pressure on Travers and Bournemouth's defense in the final minutes.

Travers pulled off a fine save in stoppage time to secure Bournemouth's victory when he stopped Haaland's last-second header from close range. The striker then fired his own rebound off the post.

“We knew we couldn’t keep up with the intensity,” said Guardiola. “We talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances in the end but I congratulate Bournemouth on their win.”

City are suffering from a long injury list, but winger Jérémy Doku made a surprise return and the second-half substitute made an immediate impact.

Captain Kyle Walker or key midfielder Kevin de Bruyne were not expected to play, but the former started and the latter returned to the bench.

Phil Foden also had a good chance for City but his shot went wide in the second half.

Haaland went down after a foul from Lewis Cook just before the hour mark, but the VAR concluded it was a fair tackle. The Norwegian was on the ground for several minutes receiving treatment before continuing, but was unable to find the net.