Manchester City fans would likely have been looking forward to their game against AFC Bournemouth after witnessing Arsenal suffer a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.
However, Bournemouth perhaps made them regret their collective excitement with a dominant display in their latest 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium.
Manchester City were outplayed and outmuscled by Andoni Iraola’s side, who have also taken points off Arsenal and Aston Villa this season.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s men are not two points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, while also having lost two games on the trot as they were defeated 2-1 by Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup as well.
It seemed like the contest was beyond the visitors’ reach after Evanilson added to the hosts’ goal tally after Antoine Semenyo’s first-half opener.
Josko Gvardiol’s goal gave City a ray of hope along with some of their late chances but ultimately, they could not even rescue a point on Saturday.
Man City fans slate Ilkay Gundogan’s performance against Bournemouth
After being taken off at half-time against Tottenham, Ilkay Gundogan would have entered his side’s latest outing with a point to prove. Bernardo Silva hailed Gundogan as a “very clever guy” and City’s smartest player but so far, his return has divided opinion.
The German was deployed as an attacking midfielder in the first half and in a deeper role in the middle of the park during the second.
However, several Manchester City fans online were left unimpressed by Gundogan’s showing against Bournemouth.
One Manchester City fan wrote: “Jacob Wright on for Gundogan will do this side a lot of good. He clearly looks a bit washed in these high-intensity games.”
One fan claimed: “Desperation made us beam with joy at the return of Gundogan. I can’t forgive Txiki [Begiristain] and Pep [Guardiola] for this, man. Ever.”
Another fan stated: “No matter what happens, Man City, don’t extend Gundo, [Kyle] Walker’s contract. We need an overhaul of the team.”
One supporter was upset at how academy players were not given a chance ahead of players like Gundogan.
“These excuses about how some players haven’t trained for weeks and certain players have niggles. We have academy players that can be used. Nobody will tell me [Jahmai] Simpson-Pusey would have been as bad as Walker was today. Would [James] McAtee have done any worse than Gundo? No sympathy.”
Gundogan stats vs Bournemouth
Gundogan did manage to somehow redeem himself with a late assist for Gvardiol, whose header was nothing short of heroic as it flew into the top corner.
However, Manchester City fans seem to be very dissatisfied by the midfield maestro’s displays.
The 34-year-old played for a majority of the contest before being taken off as Jeremy Doku was introduced by Pep Guardiola. Here are Gundogan’s statistics from his latest outing.
| GUNDOGAN STATS VS BOURNEMOUTH | |
| DRIBBLE ATTEMPTS | 0/1 |
| TACKLES | 1 |
| ACCURATE PASSES | 57/61 (93%) |
| POSSESSSION LOST | 8 |
| GROUND DUELS WON | 2/3 |
The statistics perhaps rightly indicate that Gundogan had quite a poor game.
It will be intriguing to discover whether the former Barcelona technician starts in Manchester City’s upcoming clash against Sporting CP.
Gundogan will be reflecting on how he can up his displays after a disappointing evening against Bournemouth.
