Pep Guardiola explains Bournemouth loss as Man City unbeaten run comes to an end

Pep Guardiola conceded that Manchester City “couldn’t handle” the onslaught from Bournemouth as his team, plagued by injuries, succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the Vitality Stadium, thus halting their impressive 32-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League.

The title-holders were missing pivotal figures and, with John Stones and Ruben Dias absent, were forced to cobble together a makeshift backline.

Bournemouth took full advantage, unleashing a bold offensive effort that saw Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson score, handing City their first league loss to the Cherries.

Josko Gvardiol, who played despite pre-match uncertainties over his fitness, managed to head in a late goal, igniting a tense finale. However, his effort was not enough to extend City’s sequence as they fell behind Liverpool in the league standings.

Guardiola will be particularly troubled by how effortlessly Bournemouth’s forwards, notably the standout performer Semenyo and Justin Kluivert, overwhelmed Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji, both of whom were not in peak condition.

Speaking on the injury woes, Guardiola revealed that “Ruben will be out until the international break” and acknowledged the strenuous efforts of his players: “Manu and Nathan made an incredible effort to be there in a demanding game, Kyle (Walker) as well, 18 or 19 days without one training session.”

“Rico (Lewis) has had a lot of minutes and was tired as well, so this is the position that we have, we try to handle the minutes. But we couldn’t handle it. They were another pace today and we could not handle it.”

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

Milos Kerkez was instrumental in the opening goal, outpacing Phil Foden on the left before delivering a cutback for Semenyo, who manoeuvred past Gvardiol and slid a shot past Ederson.

Especially Nathan Ake struggled with the pace and penetrating runs from Bournemouth’s forwards, and it wasn’t long until the defence was breached again.

Kerkez broke away, crossing into a space negligently left by Ake and Gvardiol, which allowed Evanilson to comfortably guide home.

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

“(The players) make an incredible effort. They are players that are not in the best way 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 want to try.”

The City boss reflected on the season’s ups and downs saying: “During the season sometimes, this kind of thing happens more than during other seasons. We have to handle it. People will come back and sooner or later the team will be back.”

Meanwhile, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola celebrated his side’s ascent to eighth following a brave streak against top teams such as City, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.

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

“We played with no fear, tried to press when we could and defend when we had to. It was dangerous in the last 10 minutes. You don’t enjoy that at all. There was so much pressure.”