Bournemouth end Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten run in Premier League

Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten run in the Premier League was ended by Bournemouth, who gave a superb display to beat the champions 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

Not since losing to Aston Villa on December 6th last year had City lost in the league, but from the first moments on the south coast Andoni Iraola’s side looked a match for them, their energy and industry rewarded by goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson.

It looked at times like Bournemouth would run away from City. Marcus Tavernier struck a post at 2-0 to leave Pep Guardiola’s side clinging on by their fingertips, before Josko Gvardiol set up a nervous finish when he headed in Ilkay Gundogan’s cross.

Guardiola had told his players they would need to play through the pain during his team’s injury troubles and so there were starts for Gvardiol, Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji, all of whom had been doubts. Kevin De Bruyne was fit enough only for the bench where he was flanked by three teenagers without a Premier League appearance between them.

Absent from the squad entirely were John Stones and Rúben Dias, and how City could have used their central defensive pair during the first 20 minutes in which Bournemouth attacked fearlessly.

A goal seemingly beckoned after a minute when first Semenyo then Justin Kluivert were kept out by Ederson, City’s goalkeeper recovering from a loose parry to produce a brilliant second stop.

It was a warning the champions failed to heed and on nine minutes they fell behind. Milos Kerkez made it, dashing round the outside of Phil Foden on the left and cutting it back centrally where Semenyo, having trodden on the ball in his haste to shoot, recovered to turn Gvardiol and angle a finish wide of Ederson and in.

Kerkez produced an