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 6 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 Ruben Dias, and how City could have used their central defensive pair during a 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 outstanding block-tackle on Bernardo Silva to preserve the lead then Erling Haaland dragged City’s best chance of the first half wide.
City had barely troubled Mark Travers in the Bournemouth goal and whatever fitness concerns Guardiola had fretted over before kick-off were shown to be substantial.
The second half almost began spectacularly, Ederson doing well to turn away Evanilson’s strike with his leg before City came close to levelling through Foden who guided wide from Matheus Nunes’s pull-back.
Lewis Cook was perhaps fortunate to escape without punishment for a challenge that carried him right through Haaland, who was left requiring treatment, to City’s irritation.
Semenyo and Kluivert were a constant threat to the visitors’ makeshift backline. Nathan Ake in particular found the speed and direct running of the Bournemouth pair nearly impossible to contain, and their link-up play nearly brought a second goal, Semenyo’s strike deflected narrowly over from a rapid break.
Again City had been warned and again Bournemouth repeated the trick to breach them. The outstanding Kerkez was the architect, rocketing clear of Walker down the left and crossing to where Ake and Gvardiol had abandoned Evanilson in the middle, giving the Brazilian room to pick his corner and finish across Ederson.
Tavernier fired against the inside of the post as Bournemouth threatened to sweep City’s unbeaten record away before their eyes.
Travers got down well to keep out and cling to Haaland’s volley as the prospect of defeat inched towards reality.
Gvardiol’s header offered late hope the run might go on, and it might have had Travers not beaten Haaland’s effort off the line in stoppage time.
Foden then fired inches wide with the final kick as Bournemouth held on.