Manchester

Bobbie Jackson
BBC Sport Journalist

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All good things must come to an end.

Manchester City's 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League is over after a lacklustre performance at in-form Bournemouth.

After Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat Tottenham, Pep Guardiola bemoaned having just 13 fit players, but he was still able to name a strong eleven to face Bournemouth - Erling Haaland, Ederson, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva featured from the start.

But it just did not click for the Premier League champions, who were unbeaten across their previous 21 fixtures against Bournemouth, and the busy calendar might be just starting to catch up with them.

Conceding early was far from ideal with Antoine Semenyo putting the hosts in front after nine minutes and the half ended with Bournemouth fans chanting "ole" following every completed pass.

City were carved open when the Cherries doubled their lead through Evanilson and it took until the 80th minute for the visitors to register an attempt on target, albeit a tame one from Erling Haaland.

They did half the deficit two minutes later through Josko Gvardiol, who scored his sixth goal in seven away Premier League games.

Haaland thought he had grabbed an equaliser in stoppage time but Mark Travers saved and the Norwegian's follow-up struck the post.

Losing is not something City are accustomed to - it is the first time they have lost successive games across all competitions since September 2023 and the first time they have tasted defeat in the league since December 2023.

A trip to Porto, managed by incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, is next up for City in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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• Bournemouth's victory today means that Manchester City’s 32-game Premier League unbeaten run has come to an end, while they have lost successive matches in all competitions for the first time since September 2023.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to BBC Match of the Day after today's loss: "We knew we couldn't match the intensity. We have talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances at the end but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory.

"The 50-50 balls in the middle, the duels, they play this type of game. They are so aggressive. They had six-seven days to prepare. They have physicality and speed, but you have to win these types of situations. And they had chances. Ederson made a good save. We had real good moments at the start of the second half and after that it was difficult to swallow as we were good. After we scored we had momentum and chances but couldn't score [again]."

On injuries and fitness issues: "It is what it is. We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes to the balance is a bit uncomfortable. We played good against Spurs but today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that's why we lost the game."

As Manchester United prepare for a new dawn, one expert explains why a certain midfielder might thrive and why a much-loved attacker could come under pressure.

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Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Bournemouth’s performance, external

What did you make of Man City’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

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After a turbulent week, there will be a lot of unknowns when Manchester United and Chelsea face off in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday.

While they go head-to-head on the pitch, we have asked our fan writers for each club to go head-to-head off it.

Each fan got to ask three questions to each other before the big game...

Dale O'Donnell
Fan writer

Here is what our Manchester United fan writer Dale O'Donnell had to say in response to questions from our Chelsea contributor Ross Mooring.

How much of a bounce are you expecting following Erik ten Hag's departure?

Ruud van Nistelrooy's Reds showed fight and attacking flair on Wednesday against a weakened Leicester City side.

People talk about a new manager bounce, but this is a step into the unknown, although the initial signs were good. Chelsea will be favourites at Old Trafford.

Other than Cole Palmer, which current Chelsea player would you most want to sign?

There is nobody outside of Palmer. Not after Mason Mount. Erik ten Hag brought him to Old Trafford for a sizeable fee and we are still none the wiser about his best role in the team.

Who in a red shirt is most likely to make a big difference on Sunday?

Alejandro Garnacho is United's biggest threat in attack and he is a player that can hurt any side in the Premier League.

He has seven goal contributions this season and will be looking to add to that on Sunday.

Find more from Dale O'Donnell at Stretty News, external

Ross Mooring
Fan writer

Here is what our Chelsea fan writer Ross Mooring had to say in response to questions from our Manchester United contributor Dale O'Donnell.

Do you think Enzo Maresca needs to do extra homework on Manchester United now Erik ten Hag has been sacked?

While I am sure Maresca will be looking at the win over Leicester and Ruud van Nistelrooy's past games as manager, the Italian is still very much bedding in his own style of play at the club.

He also has to be concerned that the Blues have only kept four clean sheets so far this season and none in the past seven games, in spite of some relatively easy fixtures in Europe and the league.

What are your thoughts on Jadon Sancho at Chelsea?

Sancho has started brightly in a Chelsea shirt, assisting in his first three games and offering something on the left flank that none of the other options at the club do.

However, he was subbed off at half time of the defeat at Liverpool and has not featured since, partly due to illness. Not being allowed to play against his parent club regardless, I would expect Pedro Neto will start on the left wing with Mykhailo Mudryk the alternate option.

What are Chelsea's biggest strengths going into the game at Old Trafford?

It might seem too easy to simply say "Cole Palmer" but it is the truth. Since the moment he signed on deadline day last year, Palmer has played in the manner of club legends Eden Hazard and Gianfranco Zola and he scored more goals last season than either ever achieved in a blue shirt to boot.

While both Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson have added composure to their games this season and Englishmen Noni Madueke and Levi Colwill have improved too, it is Palmer who will constantly be occupying two or three Manchester United players at a time on Sunday.

Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 10, he takes on The Piano TV series winner Brad Kella.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

This is another hard one to call. Manchester City's performances just haven't been there of late, but they are still finding a way to beat teams every week and I'm not sure what's going to be different this time.

I don't think this is going to be easy for City, who are missing a few players though injury, but you have to remember how good they are at getting over the line in games like this.

So, although I'm backing Bournemouth to score, I still expect City to edge this one.

Southampton, Wolves and Fulham have all run the champions close recently, and all of them still lost. It could be the same story for the Cherries too.

They are likely to be a lot more ambitious than Saints were at Etihad Stadium and that could suit City.

Bournemouth are a team who get plenty of shots off and we saw what they did to Arsenal a couple of weeks ago, but that will leave more space for Pep Guardiola's side.

Brad's prediction: 2-1

I want a Bournemouth win and I think they can get one. Rodri has been a massive loss for Manchester City since he got injured and they have got a few other players out too.

Read the full predictions and have your say