Bournemouth end City’s 32-game unbeaten run; Liverpool reclaim top spot

Manchester City’s 32-game unbeaten run in the Premier League was ended on Saturday by Bournemouth who gave a superb display to beat the defending champions 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

Not since losing to Aston Villa on December 6, 2023, 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.

Two goals in three minutes from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 and move back to the top of the Premier League.

Brighton deservedly led at the break through Ferdi Kadioglu’s early strike as Arne Slot’s side looking disjointed.

But the second half was a very different story and Liverpool were rewarded for a much-improved performance as Gakpo levelled in the 69th minute before Salah took his own personal tally to 10 goals in 17 appearances against Brighton moments later.

With Manchester City’s 32-match unbeaten record in the league coming to an end at Bournemouth, the win sees Liverpool go two points clear at the summit after 10 games.

After scoring twice in Wednesday’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Brighton on the south coast, Gakpo was one of only two players – alongside Dominik Szoboszlai – to keep his place in the Liverpool side as both managers restored their first-team regulars.

The first real chance fell to Darwin Nunez, who won the ball in midfield and rode a couple of challenges to charge into the box before seeing his shot palmed away for a corner by Bart Verbruggen.

But it was Brighton who had started the better of the two sides, pushing high and forcing mistakes from Liverpool in midfield.

And the visitors took the lead after 14 minutes. Kaoru Mitoma’s low cross from the left was behind Danny Welbeck but rolled through to Kadioglu, who smashed it beyond Caoimhin Kelleher and in off the far post.

Far from sitting back on their lead, Brighton continued to push forward and should have made it 2-0 in the 27th minute as Yasin Ayari’s superb pass put Georginio Rutter through on goal, but Kelleher made the save.

Liverpool were lacking fluidity going forward but had a chance to level from a set-piece after half an hour as Ibrahima Konate saw a header and then a shot charged down from Kostas Tsimikas’ corner.

But Brighton were quickly on the front foot again, and Kadioglu should have done better than to blaze over from Mitoma’s cross.

There was another setback for Liverpool on the stroke of half-time as Konate fell awkwardly challenging for a corner, walking off at the break nursing his left arm as Joe Gomez replaced him at the start of the second half.

The hosts came out much stronger at the second half with a string of chances to level.

In the 53rd minute former Seagull Alexis Mac Allister stooped to meet Gakpo’s cross but saw his header pushed around the post by Verbruggen.

A looping ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold then found the run of Virgil van Dijk, but he got his connection all wrong in front of goal.

Moments later Salah ran through on goal but Verbruggen got a hand on the ball as the Egyptian tried to lift it over him.

As the tension in the game grew, Gakpo cut inside to fizz a shot just wide in the 65th minute.

When the equaliser came in the 70th minute it was almost by accident as Gakpo’s cross from the left missed everyone before tucking inside the far post.

And just moments later Liverpool led as substitute Curtis Jones played in Salah, who cut in from the right and lifted a shot beyond the reach of Verbruggen.

Gomez went close to a third late on but headed straight at the goalkeeper from a Tsimikas corner.

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