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

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.

Bournemouth didn't look as comfortable during the chaos that rained down upon the game's conclusion, frantically throwing bodies in front of the ball. Erling Haaland had a header from three yards pawed away by Travers before scuffing the rebound against the post.

As Haaland was left scratching his head, Bournemouth's fans punched the air in jubilation at the end of a historic afternoon.

Bournemouth player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Mark Travers - 7/10 - After 80 minutes of inactivity, Travers certainly earned his match fee during a frantic conclusion.

RB: Adam Smith - 6/10 - Used all his wile and guile to stem the flow of City's forward thrusts down his flank.

CB: Illia Zabarnyi - 7/10 - Dovetailed impressively with Marcos Senesi up against Haaland, engaging the striker while his teammate sat off or vice versa.

CB: Marcos Senesi - 8/10 - Proactive with everything he did, be that in possession or when timing his challenges.

LB: Milos Kerkez - 8/10 - Eagerly scampered up and down the left flank throughout the contest, delivering two excellent assists.

CM: Lewis Cook - 7/10 - Doggedly scurried around midfield, always snapping at the heels of an unwitting City player.

CM: Ryan Christie - 6/10 - A little too eager in his efforts to close the ball down at times, but his enthusiasm can never be faulted.

AM: Justin Kluivert - 4/10 - Flitted in and mainly out of the contest.

RW: Antoine Semenyo - 9/10 - A class above everyone else in red and black as well as plenty of those playing for the champions. No wonder Liverpool are interested.

ST: Evanilson - 8/10 - Fought for every ball in the attacking half, keeping both of City's centre-backs very busy.

LW: Marcus Tavernier - 5/10 - Comfortable swapping flanks with Semenyo, yet offered nowhere near the same threat as his teammate.

Substitutes

SUB: Tyler Adams (66' for Christie) - 5/10

SUB: David Brooks (78' for Kluivert) - 5/10

SUB: Enes Unal (78' for Evanilson) - 5/10

SUB: Dean Huijsen (90' for Tavernier) - N/A

Subs not used: Will Dennis (GK), James Hill, Julian Araujo, Max Aarons, Philip Billing

Manager

Andoni Iraola - 8/10 - A wonderful realisation of his tactical ideals, repeatedly slicing through City in transition and the champions looked befuddled in and out of possession.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)

GK: Ederson - 8/10 - Kept City in the game on numerous occasions, charging off and across his line impressively.

RB: Kyle Walker - 2/10 - Adhered to his manager's demands of pushing through the pain barrier to get on the pitch, but did very little to justify his clearly hampered participation.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 4/10 - Struggled to live with the pace of the game when Bournemouth cranked up the tempo.

CB: Nathan Ake - 5/10 - Up against his former club, Ake didn't have a particularly disastrous afternoon individually, but wasn't in the mood to reminisce with the fans.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 - Much more comfortable up against Tavernier than Semenyo.

CM: Mateo Kovacic - 4/10 - A lonely stone pillar in the middle of a violent river, unable to stop the tide of red and black flooding forward on his own.

RM: Phil Foden - 4/10 - A defensive liability out wide, Foden drifted infield to get on the ball and only showed flashes of his abundant quality.

CM: Bernardo Silva - 6/10 - Constantly on the ball, prodding and probing from every blade of grass on the pitch.

CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 5/10 - Struggled to exert any discernible influence on proceedings until his late assist.

LM: Matheus Nunes - 4/10 - Most paths seemed to be a cul-de-sac for the shackled winger.

ST: Erling Haaland - 3/10 - Embraced the battle of Bournemouth's physical double-marking without ever winning the war.

Substitutes

SUB: Rico Lewis (73' for Ake) - 5/10

SUB: Jeremy Doku (85' for Gundogan) - N/A

Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Jacob Wright, James McAtee, Kevin De Bruyne, Nico O'Reilly, Savinho

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 4/10 - The proliferation of injuries is a valid factor and City had their chances on Saturday but his side's openness to counter-attacks is not an entirely new phenomenon. A worrying lack of ingenuity against Bournemouth's block is more of a concern.

Player of the match - Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP