Defending Champions Manchester City Suffer First League Defeat to Bournemouth

In a surprising upset, Manchester City faced their first league loss of the season against Bournemouth, raising questions about their title defense.

Manchester City’s impressive 32-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League concluded with a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday. This defeat allowed Liverpool to overtake the English champions at the top of the table.

The Cherries scored on both sides of halftime with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson, while Josko Gvardiol managed to score a goal for City.

Pep Guardiola’s team suffered their first defeat of the season across all competitions with a League Cup loss to Tottenham midweek, and they were also hindered by multiple injuries.

Before the game, Guardiola mentioned that several of his players were pushing through injuries. However, Bournemouth added insult to injury for the visitors by clinching a win after having already defeated Arsenal in their last home match.

Josko Gvardiol, wearing number 24 and playing as a defender for Manchester City, reacts after the Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on November 2, 2024. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Semenyo turned onto Milos Kerkez’s cross to score the opening goal in the ninth minute.

Evanilson guided in another pass from Kerkez shortly after the 60-minute mark.

Gvardiol breathed life into City with a powerful header from Ilkay Gundogan’s cross, just eight minutes before time.

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Erling Haaland nearly secured a point in the final moments of stoppage time when he struck the post from close range.

City dropped two points behind Liverpool, who rallied from a deficit to secure a 2-1 victory against Brighton at Anfield.

However, the first league defeat since December wasn’t as devastating as it might have been because title contenders Arsenal also suffered a loss, 1-0 against Newcastle.