Manchester City experienced their first Premier League defeat since December, losing 2-1 to Bournemouth, which also shocked Arsenal, allowing Liverpool to claim the top spot on Saturday.
City had previously gone 32 league games unbeaten, a streak dating back to a loss at Aston Villa last year. Despite being the reigning champions, Pep Guardiola’s team faced an unexpected setback on England’s south coast. Bournemouth secured their first victory over City in 22 encounters in a stunning upset.
Bournemouth had recently undermined Arsenal’s title hopes with a 2-0 victory and continued their disruptive form against City. Guardiola highlighted an “emergency” situation due to injuries sustained during their midweek League Cup defeat at Tottenham.
Bournemouth took an early lead in the ninth minute when winger Antoine Semenyo converted Milos Kerkez’s cross. Despite efforts, City struggled to respond and found themselves further behind when Evanilson doubled Bournemouth’s advantage in the 64th minute. City narrowed the gap with Josko Gvardiol’s header in the 82nd minute, but it was insufficient to overturn the result.
Guardiola reflected on the challenges, stating, “We have many players lacking match fitness, making it difficult to match their intensity. That was the deciding factor today.”
Elsewhere, Newcastle dealt a significant blow to Arsenal’s championship aspirations with a 1-0 victory at St James’ Park. Alexander Isak’s early header proved decisive. Hampered by injuries, Arsenal managed only a single shot on target, continuing their recent poor form.
Mikel Arteta expressed disappointment, acknowledging, “Today was not our best. It’s about how we respond.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool staged a late comeback at Anfield, turning a potential upset into a 2-1 victory over Brighton. After trailing from Ferdi Kadioglu’s early goal, Liverpool rallied with Cody Gakpo’s 69th-minute equalizer and a winning strike from Mohamed Salah. This victory propelled Liverpool to a two-point lead over City.
Liverpool’s coach, Arne Slot, expressed confidence in the comeback: “Turning a 1-0 deficit into a win against such a team boosts our confidence.”
In other matches, Nottingham Forest climbed to third place with a 3-0 win over 10-man West Ham, marking their third consecutive top-flight victory since 1999. At the bottom of the table, Southampton secured their first win of the season, and a late equalizer from Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi resulted in a 2-2 draw at Wolves, leaving them winless at the bottom.
