âWe couldnât handle Bournemouthâ â how Man Cityâs unbeaten run ended
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All good things must come to an end.
Manchester Cityâs 32-game unbeaten Premier League is over after a lacklustre performance led to a 2-1 loss at in-form Bournemouth.
That incredible run was a club record without tasting defeat.
Saturdayâs loss also means City have dropped to second in the Premier League, trailing leaders Liverpool by two points.
âThey [Bournemouth] were another pace today and we could not handle it,â Guardiola said.
âWe knew we couldnât match the intensity. We have talked about it. It was an open game.
âWe had chances at the end but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory.â
Guardiola has overseen 488 games since being appointed as City manager in 2016, winning 360, drawing 60 and losing 68.
Prior to Saturdayâs trip to Bournemouth, Cityâs last loss came at Aston Villa on 6 December 2023.
During that run they picked up 26 victories and six draws, scoring an impressive 80 goals and conceding just 26.
They amassed 84 points and went on to end 2023-24 with the Premier League title â winning the top flight for a third successive season.
Arsenal, who finished second last term, were the next best performing team during Cityâs unbeaten streak.
However, the Gunners lost five times during that period, scored five fewer goals and collected just 71 points.
Liverpool were the third-best performing team, collecting one fewer point than Arsenal as they won 21, drew seven and lost four.
âWe would like to keep defending it but how many games and months we did it⊠itâs great,â Guardiola told Sky Sports when asked about going almost a year without losing.
As impressive as Cityâs form has been over the last 11 months, they remain way off the all-time Premier League record.
Indeed, City are fourth when it comes to longest unbeaten runs since the inception of the Premier League in 1992-93.
Arsenal are top of the pile after enjoying a 49-game stretch without losing between May 2003 and October 2004 â spanning across three seasons.
The Gunners went through the 2003-04 campaign without losing, becoming the only club to achieve that feat, and earning the nickname âThe Invinciblesâ.
Liverpool rank second on that list with a 44-game unbeaten run between January 2019 and February 2020, while Chelsea avoided defeat for 40 matches from October 2004 through to October 2005.
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Published26 July 2022
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âPlayers are not in the best wayâ
Guardiola claimed he had just 13 fit players after Wednesdayâs 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham.
The Spaniard named a strong starting eleven for the trip to Bournemouth, with Erling Haaland, Ederson, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernado Silva all selected.
The bench, however, did look weak respectively with youngsters Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Jacob Wright, James McAtee and Nico OâReilly called in.
Guardiola only made two substitutions at Vitality Stadium due to the lack of options available.
Defender Ruben Dias, who limped out of the game at Spurs, was not in the matchday squad, although Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake did feature from the start, despite carry injuries.
Full-back Kyle Walker made his first start for the club since 28 September.
âRuben [Dias] will be out until the international break,â said Guardiola.
âManu [Akanji] and Nathan [Ake] made an incredible effort to be there in a demanding game, Kyle [Walker] as well, 18 or 19 days without one training session.
âThey are players that are not in the best way and they made an incredible effort to be here.â
Kevin de Bruyne was an unused substitute after being named in the matchday squad for the first time since 18 September.