Manchester City had a taste of their first defeat of the Premier League Saturday at Bournemouth and coach Pep Guardiola admitted that his side struggled to keep up with the pace of the home team.
City have dropped to second place as Liverpool beat visiting Brighton 2-1 at Anfield to regain top spot.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson put Bournemouth on the driver’s seat, though Josko Gvardiol later in the game gave City a reason for a fight back, Bournemouth held on to clinch the win, their first against City in their history
“We could not match Bournemouth’s intensity,” Guardiola said.
“The situation with long balls, we could not win it and when you don’t win those sorts of balls to Semenyo or the strikers, we have to defend deeper.
“We struggled to make or build up and especially for the rhythm they put in the game. They were higher than us and we could not handle it.
“When we are high pressing, long balls and you lose the ball lose the duel, win the second ball and after that they run. After that, always happened. In the past we were able to handle these situations and today we could not.”
“In that situation you have to be strong, you have to win it and today we were not able to do it. Sometimes the opponents are better, and you have to accept it.”
The loss is the second in a row after City lost to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on last Wednesday.
