Monday, January 27

Pep Guardiola explains Bournemouth defeat as Man City's unbeaten run comes to an end

Pep Guardiola in the Man City dugout

Pep Guardiola says Man City can't handle Bournemouth as their long unbeaten run comes to an end (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City 'couldn't handle' Bournemouth's onslaught as his injury-plagued side succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the Vitality Stadium, ending their impressive streak of 32 matches without defeat in the Premier League.

The title holders were missing key figures and, in the absence of John Stones and Ruben Dias, were forced to cobble together a makeshift backline.

Bournemouth took full advantage, unleashing a bold attacking effort which saw Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson score, handing City their first league defeat against the Cherries.

Josko Gvardiol, who played despite pre-match doubts over his fitness, managed to head home a late goal, sparking a tense finale. However, his efforts were not enough to extend City's streak of falling behind Liverpool in the league standings.

Guardiola will be particularly troubled by the ease with which Bournemouth's forwards, notably Semenyo and Justin Kluivert, dominated Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji, both of whom were not fully fit.

Speaking on injuries, Guardiola revealed that “Ruben will be out until the international break” and acknowledged his players' hard efforts: “Manu and Nathan made an incredible effort to be there in a demanding match, Kyle (Walker) also, 18 or 19 days without a single training session.”

“Rico (Lewis) had a lot of minutes and was tired too, so that's the position we have, we're trying to manage the minutes. But we couldn't manage that. It was a different pace today and We couldn’t handle that.”

Without key players Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, who were only fit enough for the bench, the champions found themselves overwhelmed at times.

Milos Kerkez was instrumental in the opening goal, edging past Phil Foden on the left before cutting back for Semenyo, who raced past Gvardiol and slipped a shot past Ederson.

Nathan Ake, in particular, struggled with the pace and penetrating runs of the Bournemouth attackers, and it did not take long for the defense to be breached again.

Kerkez broke away, crossing a space carelessly left by Ake and Gvardiol, which allowed Evanilson to comfortably head home.

Guardiola acknowledged the challenges faced: “Sometimes we have to accept that opponents make a type of play. Sometimes you manage it and sometimes you struggle a bit. Today it happened.

Evanilson, right, celebrates his goal

Evanilson, right, celebrates his goal (Adam Davy/PA) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

“(The players) are making an incredible effort. These are players who are not in the best shape and they made an incredible effort to be here. Manu and Nathan were not in good condition. Until the last moment, I didn't know Nathan could play, he said I wanted to try.”

The City boss reflected on the ups and downs of the season, saying: “During the season these kinds of things happen sometimes more than in other seasons. We have to deal with it. People will come back and early or later the team will return.”

Meanwhile, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola celebrated his side's rise to eighth place after a courageous run against top sides such as City, Aston Villa and Arsenal.

“You had to feel the pressure and it was tight at the end,” he admitted. “I'm very happy. One thing is to beat City but another is to play better.”

“We played without fear, tried to press when we could and defend when we had to. It was dangerous in the last 10 minutes. We didn't like that at all. There was so much pressure.”

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1970820/Pep-Guardiola-Bournemouth-Man-City

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