Bournemouth – Manchester City 2-1: The champions are eliminated

Manchester City's unbeaten start to the Premier League season is officially over after Pep Guardiola's side relocated to the south coast and were largely dominated in a 2-1 defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday.

WATCH BOURNEMOUTH vs MANCHESTER CITY FULL MATCH REPLAY

The Cherries were full of spirit and ready to run out of the starting blocks as the first three shots of the game were all theirs and they scored with the second after just 9 minutes. Antoine Semenyo capitalized on a beautifully created chance with a fine finish from the top of the six to put Bournemouth in front and send the Vitality Stadium into a frantic atmosphere. Antoine Semenyo added goal no. 2 midway through the second half, but in truth it could have been no. 3 or 4 in a just world. Josko Gvardiol headed a life-saving ball into the goal in the 82nd minute but that's more than Manchester City would get, but not for lack of trying as they had the last seven shots of the game after goal.

Rodri's absence continues to hamper City's attack…

One of the things Guardiola's teams do better than anyone else is creating numerical advantages in small spaces and trusting that their technical and tactical execution is good enough to overcome any opponent. At their best, City are unplayable by almost all but a handful of teams in the world. But at the moment they are nowhere near their best with a Rodri-sized hole in the middle of the field. City's first shot on goal, for example, only came when Erling Haaland sent a weak shot straight at Mark Travers in the 80th minute on Saturday.

… which leaves their defense far too exposed

Rodri is the one who makes all the overloads possible because the rest of the midfield and the full-backs can all move forward to join the attack without fear of what might happen if City lose the ball. No need to worry, Rodri has it. It puts out fires before the spark even ignites. That's not what Mateo Kovacic does, it's not what Ilkay Gündogan does, it's not what any other player on the team (or in the world) does – 1 in 1 for good reason.

So City have to compensate, which means Kovacic and Gündogan tag-team doing one man's work, which means the attack is too few in numbers and the same central overloads aren't possible, which means the full-backs are pushed even higher . This means that if the ball is lost, the two remaining defenders are on an island. Andoni Iraola designed the perfect game plan and his team executed it perfectly. Antoine Semenyo is currently in brilliant form, Evanilson has already settled in and Milos Kerkez, who had both assists for Bournemouth, is a constant threat at left-back. It was a perfect storm to achieve Saturday's result, but the result was fully deserved, if not undone.

Player Ratings – Bournemouth vs Manchester City

Bournemouth v Manchester City updates – by Andy Edwards

Final score Bournemouth against Man City: 2-1

Goal scorers: Antoine Semenyo (9'), Evanilson (64'), Josko Gvardiol (82')

GOAL! Bournemouth – Man City 2-1: Josko Gvardiol heads a late save into the goal (82')

GOAL! Bournemouth 2-0 Man City: Evanilson slips to score another assist from Milos Kerkez (64th)

GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Man City: Antoine Semenyo finishes brilliantly after Milos Kerkez finds him in the 6th minute (9th)

Man City starting lineup

Ederson – Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol – Kovacic, Gondogan, Silva – Foden, Nunes, Haaland

Bournemouth starting lineup

Travers – Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez – Christie, Cook, Kluivert – Semenyo, Tavernier, Evanilson

Here's how to watch Bournemouth vs Manchester City Live, stream link and start time

Kick-off time: 11 a.m. ET Saturday (November 2)
Venue: Vitality Stadium – Bournemouth
TV channels: Peacock
Streaming: Watch live peacock

Bournemouth team news, focus

Out: Alex Scott (knee), Luis Sinisterra (other)

Manchester City team news, Focus

OUT OF: Rodri (knee – season out)Kevin De Bruyne (groin), Jack Grealish (unknown), Oscar Bobb (lower leg)

Bournemouth vs Manchester City forecast

As injuries (and fixtures) pile up for City, each game becomes tougher and the demands greater. Few teams in the PL make you work and fight as hard as Bournemouth and they will push the champions to the brink… but not quite beyond. Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City.