How exactly do you beat a team like Manchester City? It’s a conundrum that has outfoxed all but a select group of managers over this and the previous two seasons as Pep Guardiola’s side have swept all before them, with only Jürgen Klopp, José Mourinho, Maurizio Sarri, Claude Puel, Roy Hodgson and Rafael Benítez having tasted victory against them in the Premier League since August 2018.
Yet while his battling side ended up becoming the 67th victims of Guardiola’s unrelenting machine in the league since then, Eddie Howe’s approach to tackling the champions will at least have given some of their title rivals some reasons for optimism. Since being promoted in 2015, Bournemouth have now lost all nine of their top-flight matches against City, conceding 28 goals and scoring only four, but Howe will know that it could easily have been very different this time had either Ederson or Kyle Walker been shown a red card in the first half.
Related: Sergio Agüero double helps Manchester City put Bournemouth to the sword
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