Manchester City’s long unbeaten run in the Premier League came to a sorry end against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side were deservedly beaten at the Vitality Stadium, with the Cherries winning 2-1.
Manchester City have not been in full flow all season and for some, this kind of performance and result had been coming.
The team is very much still adapting without Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, and City are having trouble breaking teams down.
But Guardiola is also having to deal with quite a large number of injuries at the moment.
Against Bournemouth yesterday, he could not call on Rodri, De Bruyne (although he was back on the bench), Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jack Grealish, Savinho (on the bench) and Oscar Bobb.
One player who did manage to take to the field though was Nathan Ake, who came in for praise from his manager after the game.
Pep Guardiola hails Nathan Ake’s resilience after Bournemouth defeat
Yesterday’s defeat to Bournemouth was disappointing, although the hosts deserve a lot of credit for the way they played.
While City were not firing on all cylinders, the Cherries were brilliant in pretty much every aspect.
City struggled for about 75 minutes of the game before finally finding another gear, but they left it too late to mount a comeback.
Some players certainly did not look 100% fit yesterday, with Kyle Walker having a particularly torrid afternoon.
Nathan Ake was making only his first start of the season in the Premier League, and Guardiola suggested after the game that he almost didn’t even play.
He said (via Mike Minay): “I’m really pleased for the incredible effort from Nathan, I asked him this morning and I asked him.
| Nathan Ake stats vs Bournemouth |
| Minutes played – 73 |
| Pass completion – 97% (74/76) |
| Touches – 79 |
| Duels (won) – 3 (1) |
| Defensive actions – 1 |
| Error leading to shot – 1 |
“He said he wanted to try. Struggle this season with a problem in his feet…”
It was a quick turnaround for Ake, who had also started the Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.
Josko Gvardiol is in fine form at the moment, so Ake may well need to get used to bench for Man City this season. However, injuries could pave the way for the Dutchman to still make a significant impact.
Guardiola paying the price for having a small squad
Guardiola famously prefers to work with a small squad as he finds it helps keep everyone happier in terms of playing minutes.
Currently though, Guardiola has a number of injuries at once and it means he is having to turn to the same players over and over again, which means those players are more at risk of getting injured themselves.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| 5 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 18 |
| 6 |  ChelseaChelsea | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 17 |
Hopefully City are able to bounce back immediately from this defeat to Bournemouth and keep pace with Liverpool at the top.
Right now, that is what it’s all about. Just staying in the mix while key players return to the picture.
After the next international break, Guardiola will hopefully be able to have De Bruyne back playing again, with the Belgian being badly missed right now.
