Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City "could not handle" the intensity of Bournemouth after falling to a 2-1 defeat on the south coast.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson saw City fall to a 2-0 deficit for the first time since January 2023 (against Tottenham), before Josko Gvardiol headed in what proved to be a consolation late on.
The defending champions had been struggling with injuries in the build-up to the fixture, leading to a bench with an average age of 23 years old.
Guardiola blamed those injury troubles for his side's failure to get back in the game at the Vitality Stadium.
"We knew we couldn't match the intensity. We have talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances at the end but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory," he told BBC Sport.
"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.
"We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes to 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."
City still managed to accumulate a higher expected goals (xG) total, finishing on 1.8 compared to Bournemouth's 1.74.
That was boosted significantly when struggling Erling Haaland saw a header saved in stoppage time before crashing the rebound against the base of the post from close range.
"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 [again]," added Guardiola.
It was an entirely different story for the hosts, who registered a third home victory on the bounce, after defeating City's title rivals Arsenal in October.
"It was a great game. We did everything we could. We needed our very best performance and not the greatest game [from City] and that happened. It is very good to beat City and even better to beat them deservedly," enthused Andoni Iraola.
"It is very difficult. They are a great team. They have amazing subs and you have to suffer, stay compact. We suffered after a good game. We had the chance to finish it and not suffer too much at the end, but now we have to enjoy it.
“We know there are better teams than us but it is not easy to play here and we have to keep this level so everyone knows that when they come here it will not be an easy game."
The victory came in no small part due to the standout performances of Semenyo and Milos Kerkez
Semenyo was central to every Bournemouth attack and accumulated 0.56 xG and created three chances, the highest in his team.
Kerkez proved instrumental, too, delivering both assists off the left wing, first beating Kyle Walker to drive to the byline and cut back for Semenyo's opener, before providing a brilliant cross for Evanilson to prod in Bournemouth's second.
"They played very well the last few games and today they had the finishing product. Milos had two assists, we felt he deserved to get the numbers and I am happy as it was a complete performance," added Iraola.
"To beat a team like City you need everyone to play really well and they did."
LA Galaxy 2-1 New York Red Bulls: Paintsil and Joveljic goals secure MLS Cup
The LA Galaxy claimed a record-extending sixth MLS Cup by beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1, with early goals from Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic securing the trophy.
The Galaxy raced into a two-goal lead within 13 minutes as they made a blistering start on home soil at Dignity Health Sports Park, and they held firm after the Red Bulls halved the arrears midway through the first half.
Gaston Brugman threaded a lovely throughball into the path of Paintsil, who slotted his finish under Carlos Coronel for a ninth-minute opener.
Four minutes later, Greg Vanney's men had breathing space as Joveljic escaped the Red Bulls backline to prod home with the outside of his boot.
Daniel Edelman narrowly avoided putting through his own net soon afterwards, then New York clawed one back through captain Sean Nealis, who volleyed home following an inswinging corner Emil Forsberg.
Noah Eile missed one glorious chance before teeing up another for Dante Vanzeir, but the Galaxy held firm, almost adding a third goal when Miki Yamane cannoned a shot against the post shortly after the hour-mark.
Data Debrief: Galaxy out on their own
The LA Galaxy already held the record for most MLS Cup triumphs ahead of Saturday's showpiece game, with their sixth success now taking them two clear of D.C. United.
The win ended their 10-year wait for a title, last claiming the crown when a team containing Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane beat the New England Revolution in 2014.
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid: Bellingham and Mbappe score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Real Madrid closed the gap on LaLiga leaders Barcelona to two points with a commanding 3-0 win at Girona, with goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe.
Second-placed Madrid have 36 points with a game in hand on Barca, who drew 2-2 at Real Betis earlier on Saturday, after inflicting Girona's sixth loss of the campaign.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 36th minute by capitalising on a loose ball and firing home from the centre of the box, with the England international then turning provider for Madrid's second goal.
Ten minutes into the second half, his defence-splitting throughball teed up Guler to double Madrid's lead, though Bellingham was withdrawn with an injury soon afterwards.
Mbappe then added further gloss shortly after the hour mark, firing home from a tight angle for his ninth league goal of the season.
Data debrief: Mbappe brings up double century
Mbappe's ninth league goal for Madrid was also his 200th in his career across Europe's top five leagues, on his 261st such appearance.
He netted 16 times for Monaco and 175 times with Paris Saint-Germain.
He was not the only Blancos star with something to celebrate, as Bellingham made it five straight games with a goal for the very first time in Europe's top leagues, though his second-half exit will concern Carlo Ancelotti.
STETHS end title drought with 3-1 Ben Francis Cup win over Clarendon College
St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) celebrated their seventh hold on the ISSA/Wata Ben Francis Cup in commanding fashion after defeating dethroned daCosta Cup champions Clarendon College 3-1 in an entertaining final at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaieem Lewis (27th), Henry Johnson (45+2), and substitute Jordan Blake (90+3) ended an eight-year title drought for the Santa Cruz-based institution. Their last triumph came in 2015, when they secured a memorable double, winning both the daCosta Cup and the Ben Francis Cup.
This latest success adds to a decorated history in the competition, with previous titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Meanwhile, Justin Hayles (69th) pulled one back for Clarendon College, who finished the season empty-handed for the first time in recent memory.
Winning coach Omar Wedderburn is optimistic that this title win is the start of their resurgence for even greater ambitions in the seasons ahead, as it serves as a reminder of their rich legacy in schoolboy football.
“It feels incredible to finally bring this title back home; we came here today with a lot of heart, so we are really happy. It is almost a decade now since we won anything at STETHS, and I think this is the way to start. We have to creep before we walk, and this is our creeping right now because we have great plans for next year, and this will motivate our programme going forward,” a jubilant Wedderburn said post-match.
STETHS entered the contest with purpose, but it was Clarendon College who initially looked more threatening in the early exchanges.
In the 10th minute, Dameon Simms had an opportunity for the Chapelton-based Clarendon College deep inside the box, only to be denied by Johnoi Steadman in goal for STETHS.
The Santa Cruz outfit began asserting themselves shortly after, with Lewis narrowly missing the target in the 16th minute. STETHS appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Justin McPherson found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled offside.
Still, persistence paid off three minutes later, as Dantay Hewitt's pass found Lewis in the box, and the Trinidadian comfortably slotted home from close range to give STETHS the lead.
Right before halftime, Joshaine Beecher’s dynamic run on the break set up Johnson, whose perfectly timed overlapping run ended with a clinical finish past Clarendon College’s goalkeeper Marco Thompson to put STETHS 2-0 up at the break.
Clarendon College came out with renewed vigour on the resumption, with Justin Hayles forcing two strong saves from Steadman a few minutes in.
The pressure eventually yielded results in the 69th minute when Antwon McDonald was brought down in the box, and Hayles calmly converted the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit.
Clarendon College continued to press for an equalizer, but Steadman remained resolute, denying Dusean Petgrave in the 76th minute to maintain STETHS’s advantage.
Though still in charge in the dying moments of the contest, STETHS showcased their composure and teamwork with a fluid sequence involving four or five passes. Substitute Blake capped off the well-worked build-up with a curling left-footed shot past the diving Thompson to seal the 3-1 victory.
Clarendon College’s Technical Director, Lenworth Hyde, expressed a mixed bag of emotions at the outcome.
“Such is the game; this year we have been in an out with players; we lost a lot of our players last year and brought in some new players this year. After we got knocked out of the daCosta Cup, we cut the squad again and brought up some Under-16 players to play as we build for next season. I think we tried, but STETHS was just quicker than us, and we didn’t make use of our chances,” Hyde said.
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