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Pep Guardiola says injury-hit Manchester City could not ‘handle intensity’ of Bournemouth during Premier League defeat
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Published 02/11/2024 at 18:21 GMT
Premier League champions Manchester City are struggling with injuries as the winter approaches, with the likes of John Stones, Rodri and Ruben Dias all out. Manager Pep Guardiola explained that problems with his squad meant that his side were unable to match Bournemouth's "intensity" in their 2-1 defeat on the South Coast on Saturday afternoon, which saw them drop to second.
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side could not “match the intensity” of opponents Bournemouth after a 2-1 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
The Premier League champions have endured a difficult period with injuries, as Rodri looks set to miss the entirety of the season, and there are concerns over Ruben Dias and John Stones, amongst others.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson for the home side gave them a 2-0 lead before Josko Gvardiol was able to pull one back, but City were unable to find an equaliser.
After 10 league games played, City are in second spot after Liverpool’s win over Brighton took Arne Slot’s men top.
"We knew we couldn't match the intensity,” Guardiola told the BBC.
“We have talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances at the end, but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory.
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"The 50-50 balls in the middle, the duels, they play this type of game. They are so aggressive. They had six, seven days to prepare.
"They have physicality and speed, but you have to win these types of situations. And they had chances. Ederson made a good save.
“We had real good moments at the start of the second half and after that it was difficult to swallow as we were good. After we scored, we had momentum and chances but couldn't score [another].”
The Spaniard said that fitness concerns had led to problems with team selection, which affected the performance.
He explained: "It is what it is. We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes, so the balance is a bit uncomfortable.
"We played good against Spurs, but today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that's why we lost the game."
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