Bournemouth
Haaland Brace and Cherki Supply Propel Man City to 3-1 Win Over Bournemouth
Haaland’s brace and Cherki’s creativity delivered a 3-1 Man City win and defensive control. Tonight.
Manchester City moved within six points of Arsenal after a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth in the penultimate Premier League match of the week. Erling Haaland scored twice in the first half, both goals set up by Rayan Cherki, and Nico O’Reilly extended the lead after the interval.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute after Cherki released him from inside his own half. Bournemouth responded from a corner when Tyler Adams converted a loose ball following a failed Donnarumma clearance. City players protested to referee Anthony Taylor but VAR checked and allowed the goal; it was Adams’ first Premier League goal. Haaland restored the lead before half-time with a composed finish after another incisive pass from Cherki. O’Reilly’s strike in the 60th minute sealed the result. Haaland was withdrawn in the 82nd minute for Omar Marmoush; it was the 15th time he was taken off after scoring a brace and marked his fourth straight home match with two goals. Rodri returned as a stoppage-time substitute, his first appearance since the injury suffered against Brentford earlier in the season; he is the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.
Player ratings (out of 10)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma — 6.7: Should have done better on the corner for Bournemouth’s only goal of the evening.
RB: Matheus Nunes — 7.7: Performed well and dealt with Semenyo and Adrien Truffert for most of the night.
CB: Rúben Dias — 6.9: The Portuguese was solid at the back and looks to be building some consistent form.
CB: Joško Gvardiol — 6.9: Put in some big tackles and won four of his six duels.
LB: Nico O’Reilly — 8.3: Probably should’ve had two goals on the night, but will be happy to secure his first goal of the season.
DM: Nico González — 7.7: The Spaniard had another strong showing knowing competition for places will increase given the return of Rodri.
DM: Bernardo Silva — 6.8: A more quiet night for the Portuguese. In and out of the game at times.
RW: Rayan Cherki — 8.6: The creative spark that set Haaland free for both of his first half goals.
AM: Phil Foden — 8.0: Active and accurate in a central creative role on his 200th league appearance for the Cityzens.
LW: Jérémy Doku — 7.4: Completed the most dribbles (5) and created the most chances (4).
ST: Erling Haaland — 9.1: Scored two clinical goals after blanking last time out in the Premier League.
Subs used: Tijjani Reijnders 6.1, Savinho 6.5, Omar Marmoush N/A, Rodri N/A, Rayan Aït-Nouri N/A. Unused: James Trafford, John Stones, Nathan Aké, Rico Lewis.
Bournemouth started in a 4-2-3-1. Match stats showed City with 53% possession, xG 1.76 to Bournemouth 0.37, nine shots to two and six corners to one.
Bournemouth
Semenyo addresses transfer talk and explains decision to stay at Bournemouth
Semenyo says he is happy to remain at Bournemouth for 2025-26 and credits Iraola for his form in 2025
Antoine Semenyo has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most influential players this season and says he is content to have remained at Bournemouth for 2025–26. Despite sustained speculation over his future, Semenyo made clear he has focused on his football and on contributing to the team.
“I try to stay present as much as I can,” Semenyo told Sky Sports. “You see the news all the time, I see it as well. I’m not oblivious but I try to stay focused. I don’t think about it too much.” He added: “I’m enjoying my football here. If I’m not scoring goals, all of that goes away. I try to stay present, do the best I can for the team, score goals and whatever happens in the future happens.”
The Ghana international has nine Premier League goal involvements this term, the most of any player outside of Erling Haaland, and has scored six goals in 10 appearances. Those numbers have helped him attract transfer interest; the summer window included a £50 million bid from Manchester United to try to sign him for Old Trafford.
Unlike former Bournemouth teammates Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illya Zabarnyi, who completed big-money moves elsewhere, Semenyo stayed. He said there was active negotiation with the club but that his belief in manager Andoni Iraola played a major part in his choice. “There was a lot of interest and back-and-fourth with the club [over a potential transfer],” Semenyo said. “But I knew in my head that the manager’s got something up his sleeve this year. How we finished off the season last year was so good and we could continue, especially with the players we’ve bought in as well.”
Semenyo described Iraola’s impact on the squad when speaking to Jamie Redknapp. “He’s unbelievable [Iraola] honestly,” Semenyo told Jamie Redknapp. “As everyone embedded into what his playing style was, it’s just been unbelievable. It’s just relentless and I think everyone’s into it.”
Now 25 and off to the best start of his career, Semenyo remains based at Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth sit fourth in the Premier League table.
Bournemouth
Adams’ Bournemouth Equaliser Makes It Five Competitions with a Goal
Adams’ equaliser at Manchester City lifted his career tally to seven and across five competitions. .
Tyler Adams produced a notable moment for AFC Bournemouth on Sunday, converting an equaliser at Manchester City to draw his side level. The goal arrived in the 25th minute when Adams barreled in a corner kick, temporarily cancelling out Erling Haaland’s 17th-minute opener. Haaland then responded with a 33rd-minute strike to put Manchester City 2–1 up at half.
Bournemouth
Guardiola Gives Short Update on Haaland Ahead of Bournemouth Test
Guardiola offers brief update on Haaland’s availability ahead of Man City v Bournemouth.
Pep Guardiola offered little by way of certainty when asked whether Erling Haaland would be available for Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with Bournemouth on Sunday. On the single-word reply he could offer, Guardiola said: “I hope so.”
City enter the fixture fifth in the early table, hosting a Bournemouth side that sit one place and four points adrift of league-leading Arsenal. The Cherries have been unbeaten in the league since the opening weekend Anfield defeat to Liverpool. Manager Andoni Iraola draws inspiration from Marcelo Bielsa, and Bournemouth have produced the most aggressive off-the-ball approach in the Premier League this season.
Guardiola acknowledged the difficulty of the match and the value of Haaland to his side. Haaland has scored 15 goals across 12 appearances in the Premier League and Champions League. “No one else in City’s squad has mustered more than one in those competitions” was a fact underlining his influence on the frontline.
Omar Marmoush started up front in Haaland’s absence and scored his first goal of the season in Wednesday’s nervy Carabao Cup victory. Marmoush was brought in as Julián Alvarez’s belated replacement and offers a theoretical option to play instead of or alongside Haaland. Marmoush has not started a league game since August and, notably, Bournemouth were the last Premier League team to concede a goal scored by Marmoush.
Guardiola praised both players’ qualities in his postgame remarks. He said: “Maybe at the end when we win the Premier League 10 points in front, 10 games to go, after he will rest.” He added: “With Erling, he knows perfectly how to be patient, how to be in small spaces, how to be consistent, to go to the ones in behind,” Guardiola gushed postgame. “Marmoush has been injured for a long time and of course, playing in the position that Erling plays, and Erling is important, but we know in many games we need both and having him back is so nice.”
The manager faces the prospect of preparing his team for a full-throttle Bournemouth press, ideally with his talisman available to lead the line.
