Kicking off our Gameweek 10 Scout Notes, we reflect on the end of Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten league run.
PEP CLARIFIES INJURY SITUATION
There were some surprises on the Manchester City teamsheet on Saturday, with Jeremy Doku (£6.3m), Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) and Kyle Walker (£5.2m) all making the matchday squad a day after Pep Guardiola suggested none of them were fit.
Manuel Akanji (£5.5m) and, as it later transpired, Nathan Ake (£5.3m) had also been doubts going into the trip to Bournemouth.
Absent from the travelling party meanwhile were John Stones (£5.3m) and Ruben Dias (£5.5m).
To cap off the bedlam, the 16%-owned Rico Lewis (£4.8m) was benched.
Guardiola had a lot of explaining to do.
“Ruben will be out until the international break. Manu and Nathan make an incredible effort to be there, demanding game. Kyle as well, 18 days, 19 days without training, one training session with us – today was there. Rico was a lot of minutes, was tired as well.
“Ruben is muscular so out till the international break. John has plantar fasciitis, something in the feet, and today was not ready.” – Pep Guardiola
“They make an incredible effort because there are players that are not in the best way and they make an incredible effort to be here. So, Manu and Nathan were not in really good condition. Until the last moment, I didn’t know Nathan could play and he said, “No, I want to try, I want to try”. That’s why after 2-0, we decide to don’t extra push it. Maybe we need it for the next Tuesday in Lisboa.” – Pep Guardiola on the surprise names on his teamsheet
“We couldn’t match up to the intensity”, was Guardiola’s post-match assessment of this game. While eyes might roll at the City manager’s mention of Bournemouth having extra preparation time for this match, there was something in it.
Several of the reigning champions’ squad, like Lewis, are running on fumes. Then there are others completely devoid of what Guardiola calls “rhythm”, like the returning Walker and Ake. This isn’t a squad in tip-top physical condition, all told.
You definitely need that heading to Bournemouth, one of the division’s most intense, in-your-face sides. The Cherries bossed the game, the close-ish xG of 2.04-1.56 distorted by a late City rally. For 80+ minutes, there was only one side in it.
It doesn’t get any easier. While much is made of Brighton and Hove Albion’s high line, they are very much in the Bournemouth mould in terms of pressing, aggression and intensity. City’s trip to the Amex comes four days after an away game against Sporting, another high-octane team. Can they match the Seagulls for energy in Gameweek 11?
FOUR BLANKS IN FIVE FOR HAALAND
Erling Haaland (£15.4m) is suffering as a result. There were no returns here, the fourth blank in five Gameweeks for the big Norwegian.
Feeding off scraps, his only two ‘big chances’ came in the same 92nd-minute incident in which he had a header saved and then prodded the rebound against the upright.
There’s been a decline in the quality of opportunities falling his way. Save for the absurd Southampton game last weekend, there’s a bit of a split between Gameweeks 1-5 (10 goals scored) and Gameweeks 6-10 (one goal scored):
Above: Haaland’s xG per Gameweek, sorted by highest first
Despite a downward trajectory, 3.90 xG over the last four Gameweeks is still top among forwards. You’d expect four goals from that, not one.
One further glimmer of hope is the return of De Bruyne. In his absence, City haven’t been able to replicate the levels of service the Belgian provides. It’s a big ask for him to be back to his best as soon as Gameweek 11 but perhaps the November international break can help De Bruyne, and others, reboot.
If Guardiol (£6.2m) is a rare City success story at present. He nodded in his third goal in five Gameweeks here; no defender has had more shots or penalty box touches in that time.
SUPERB SEMENYO
Even Andoni Iraola admitted after full-time that he didn’t expect to get seven points from Arsenal, Aston Villa and City. While the previous two results were a tad fortunate (an Arsenal red card, Villa’s profligacy), this win was much deserved.
Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) was superb again. Denied early on when the Cherries had an excellent double chance to score, he was later about to cap off a jinking run when Evanilson (£5.9m) nicked the ball off his toes.
In between, though, reward for his endeavour. A superb turn and shot from a Milos Kerkez (£4.4m) cross, one of two assists for the left-back. That’s as many as Kerkez managed in the whole of 2023/24, when he failed to live up to his attacking reputation.
Evanilson, recalled to the starting XI, got the crucial second goal to notch in consecutive weeks.
There were other chances, too, the best of which was Adam Smith‘s (£4.5m) horror open-goal miss after Marcus Tavernier‘s (£5.5m) shot hit the post.
The Cherries now sit top of the Season Ticker for ‘attack’ until the New Year (above). The one caveat is they’ve looked far less intense on the road, lucky to scrape results against Villa, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
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