Bournemouth 2-1 Man City: Player ratings as Cherries end Cityzens' unbeaten run

• Antoine Semenyo gave Bournemouth an early lead before Evanilson deservedly made it 2-0 in the second half
• Josko Gvardiol pulled one back for the champions late on
• Man City had not lost a Premier League game since December 2023

Bournemouth consigned Manchester City to their first Premier League defeat in 11 months, ending the champions' 32-game unbeaten streak with a spirited 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon.

Antoine Semenyo embodied Bournemouth's brilliant performance at a raucous Vitality Stadium, opening the scoring inside ten minutes before playing a role in Evanilson's second-half toe-poke. City were kept almost entirely at arm's length until Josko Gvardiol's 82nd-minute header which sparked a nervy conclusion.

The Cherries clung on to their lead to not only end City's loss-less sequence, but seal the club's first-ever victory in this fixture.

How the game unfolded

Fresh from their first defeat of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek and an injury "emergency", Manchester City's jaw was swiftly rocked once more. Bournemouth barrelled through the opening exchanges, forcing a raft of turnovers and two saves from Ederson within 90 seconds of kick off.

Semenyo only had to wait until the ninth minute to break the deadlock, shrugging off Gvardiol to control Milos Kerkez's low cross before swivelling to fire the hosts into a deserved lead.

Andoni Iraola's fired-up hosts are masters of mayhem, cantering through a chaotic opening 25 minutes as the champions did well to hang on. City belatedly and inevitability established some semblance of control, but struggled to penetrate Bournemouth's robust rearguard which was always desperate to spring forward in transition.

City were denied a single shot on target in a first half which ended with cheers of 'ole!' from a buoyant Bournemouth crowd. The second 45 minutes almost began with another roar, only for Evanilson's tame effort from ten yards almost straight after the restart prompting groans. Once again, Ederson had to bail out his teammates.

The Brazilian goalkeeper couldn't get a glove on Evanilson's 64th-minute effort. The hosts carried their greatest threat on the break but City were defensively set (in theory) when the move for Bournemouth's goal began in their backline. Skipping around City's understaffed right flank, equipped with an invisible Phil Foden and infirm Kyle Walker, Kerkez fired another excellent low cross which Evanilson poked beyond his compatriot at full stretch.

Adam Smith almost put the game out of sight within a matter a minutes. Following up Marcus Tavernier's shot which clanked off the post, Bournemouth's skipper shanked a hurried attempt high and wide of an empty goal.

Guardiola's side didn't force Mark Travers into a save until the final ten minutes. Subconsciously or otherwise, the Cherries had begun to sink deeper and deeper by that point, eventually giving in to a powerful header from Gvardiol in the 82nd minute.