The Cherries got picked off by Manchester City on Saturday night, seeing the sky blues move on toward Luton and a huge month in March. Another clean sheet with Foden the star, key saves by Ederson and important blocks by Ruben Dias.

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Bournemouth 0 - 1 Manchester City | Game Review

MOTM: Phil Foden

Other standout performances include: Ederson, John Stones & Manuel Akanji

Notable Stats:

• Ederson now holds the record for the most clean sheets in Manchester City history (110), overtaking Joe Hart (109).

• Manchester City have won more away games in all competitions this season (14) than they did in the entirety of last season’s treble winning campaign (13).

• Pep Guardiola has a better 100% record vs. Bournemouth than any other side he has faced during his managerial career. 13 wins, 38 goals scored and 7 conceded.

Main Takeaways:

• Phil Foden playing centrally, taking the ball deep for the build up, receiving balls on the half turn in the final third and scoring game winners. His position, movement and performance is something you can get use to seeing week in week out for years to come. He’s just that good.

• Stones for the first time this season has had the hand brake fully taken off, stepping into midfield and covering all corners of the pitch. His evolution from when he joined to now is astonishing. A cheat code in midfield with Rodri. A key reason why we have a chance to do it all again this season if fit.

• Ederson had a fantastic game against Bournemouth, not just on the ball for our build up and by passing their press but also coming up with key saves. Saves in the first half to stop the opposition gaining momentum. Saves in the second half to keep the clean sheet and 3 points as Bournemouth turned up the pressure.

• Akanji had a stellar performance at RB and is much more in line with what we need on the ball compared to Kyle Walker. Who has also improved a lot in the most recent games, still Akanji is our best option there.

• Haaland continues to get into great positions, be given chances and not put them away. Form something to watch and should return to the norm eventually. You can see just how desperate he is to score right now, no faulting his effort, which could be why he is struggling. Forcing it too much. In the build up, dropping in and winning long balls he did very well all game long. Just his presence has defenders falling over.

• Dias came in and made crucial blocks for both halves of the game. Looking more and more confident as each one goes by, promising signs.

• Kovacic when he is fit and sharp has been incredible for us. Similar to his performance against Spurs, providing a dink ball over the top for the goal and comfortable running through any press in midfield. One of the few players that always look to get balls through to Haaland.

• Nunes putting a very solid performance in for someone who has been up and down this season, in a different position. Held the ball up well, making runs with and without it. Held back by his decision making, looks caught in two minds like he is trying to do the right thing vs what his instinct on the ball is.

• The substitutes didn’t perhaps have the impact we were expecting watching the game, ideally providing a second to wrap it up. Positive will be KDB back on the pitch with some minutes. Alvarez, whose pressing is a strength, consistently got beat when applying pressure and letting Bournemouth break into space. Doku also struggled to get a chance created or decent cross into the box but did keep the ball for the most part when we were trying get more control.

• We had mentioned how well Bournemouth press and were organised off the ball. You saw that in the first half, along with City handling it with ease. Impressive.

• The second half you can take a few different ways. Defensively they stood up to the challenge and pushed through to earn three points. Still, you cannot ignore that City would have wanted to control that game much better, something the substitutes didn’t help towards doing. Better quality would have punished us.

Moving Forward:

• The best of this Manchester City team is yet to come, whilst Arsenal have performed brilliant of late fielding their best team back-to-back-to-back. City have not. They have been rotating and dealing with injuries. Copenhagen saw the best eleven on the pitch in the first twenty minutes and the Manchester derby will see it return again.

• Akanji at RB is our best option in the toughest games. Fantastic defensively and on the ball out wide. Question becomes when does Pep drop Walker for him, keeping Kyle strictly for 1v1 match ups like Vini Jr.

• Substitutes is something Pep will need to work out for the run-in. Today they were not it, made the game more chaotic than less. Will be interesting to see how he approaches it in the tough games March has for us.

• Luton Town will see City rotate and keep players fresh before the best eleven plays in the derby. Hopefully Oscar Bobb gets a start along with Nunes midweek, two that will struggle to get minutes towards the end of the season when the team gets locked in.

• Rodri has now made it to the toughest run of games with 6 PL games in a row without a yellow card. Clearly holding himself back in challenges and we will need those for the games against Liverpool, United & Arsenal. Big boost.

Fixtures Ahead

• FEB 27: Luton Town (a) FA Cup

• MAR 03: Man United (h) Premier League

• MAR 06: Copenhagen (a) Champions League

• MAR 10: Liverpool (a) Premier League

• MAR 17: Brighton (a) Premier League

• MAR 31: Arsenal (h) Premier League

Interesting Moments and Links

• markstatsbot is an account I recommend checking out on X if you want stats from the game, the second it finishes.

• The game winning goal, Phil Foden again.

• John Stones working across the entire pitch today.

• Remarkable save off the line by Ederson.

That’s all for this newsletter, rounding up our week with everything here at Sky Blue Times and the world of Manchester City. We are always looking for other ways to provide value to our subscribers so we appreciate any feedback provided in the comments below.

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