Invincible is no longer Manchester City. On Saturday, the English champion bit the dust for the first time since December 6, 2023 in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola's armada remained unbeaten for 32 games in a row, notably resisting the hostile contexts of St James' Park and Anfield. The fourth longest unbeaten run in PL history after Arsenal's 49 games (2003-2004), Liverpool's 44 (2019-2020) and Chelsea's 40 (2004-2005). THE Skyblues However, they ended up hitting a wall at the Vitality Stadium. And Bournemouth didn't steal it.
Hey!
THE Cherries completely suffocated the championship leader: the clock did not even show two minutes of play when Ederson had to pull off a double save against Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kuivert (2e). Their constant pressing and their desire to move forward bore fruit when the Ghanaian opened the scoring from a pivot (9e) and that Evanilson, checked by the goalkeeper a little earlier (46e), threw himself perfectly to cut Milos Kerkez's center line (64e). A well-deserved lead which could even have increased further with Marcus Tavernier's shot on the post and Adam Smith's miss, alone in front of the empty goal (67e). The public absolutely allowed themselves to go through a series of “Olé!” » in the first period facing the influence of his protégés. “We couldn't manage the paceconfided Pep Guardiola on Saturday. We knew we couldn't compete on intensity. » Injuries or not, the vice of Cherries was strong enough to prevent Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva, İlkay Gündoğan, Phil Foden and Mateo Kovačić from hitting a single shot for 80 minutes. And to obtain the first victory in their history against Manchester City.
Cherry good trip
Unabashedly, Bournemouth are the third team with the most goalscoring goals this season in the Premier League, just behind Manchester City and Tottenham. All this while having already faced the top six in the championship, sorry. THE Cherries have 15 points after ten days, nine more than at the same stage last season. Their record could have been even more flattering with a hint of additional success, Bournemouth being the team in the championship which touches the amounts the most – seven times, like Chelsea and Manchester United. The early expulsion of William Saliba may have somewhat devalued the credit given to their performance against Arsenal before the international break. Andoni Iraola's players took care to remind us that there was no coincidence in following up with a self-sacrificingly drawn draw at Villa Park (1-1) and therefore this prestigious success against the champion. “One thing is to beat City, another is to play better. We played without fear, we tried to press when we could and defend when we had to.”welcomed Professor Iraola, nominated for the title of coach of the year with Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Jürgen Klopp last season.
The choice of a coach with a strong playing identity, author of a brilliant career with Rayo Vallecano, is now bearing fruit. Arriving in June 2023 on the Bournemouth bench, the Spaniard could have returned home after a few months: his team only had three points after nine days last season. “We couldn't absorb all the information up frontexplained Dominic Solanke to Times a few months ago. We didn't know when to press or when to release at first but now it's ingrained in our heads and we're all on the same page. » The principles of play have been infused, well beyond individualities. Bournemouth was able to recover from the departure of Solanke (19 goals in 2023-2024). The pilgrim's stick was recovered by Antoine Semenyo, on whom the club successfully bet even though he had never experienced the Premier League, and by Evanilson, recruited for nearly 40 million euros this summer, who is gaining strength with three goals in its last five matches. It pays to work well. And the story has only just begun.
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