Antoine Semenyo makes the difference as Bournemouth topples Manchester City | first division

Manchester City could not overcome its pain barrier. As a 32-match unbeaten Premier League run came to an end, they creaked. Aging and weary legs were asked to chase (in vain) an opponent full of energy and a belief rarely evidenced against serial champions. For once, Pep Guardiola's team fell short.

Bournemouth were brilliant, the victory was fully deserved and Antoine Semenyo dazzled. Demoted Kyle Walker to the doghouse, the City captain left with his blood twisted. “It feels amazing,” the star man said. “The best team in the world!”

To be fair to Walker, he had responded to his manager's call for walking wounded to stand when their fitness fell far below the desired level. City's initial selection bordered on impressive, but hid the depth of their casualty list. The bench even included Kevin De Bruyne, invisible since September, and Savinho, who, in tears, left Tottenham in midweek on a stretcher. Neither lit up, even when the emergency drew attention.

“We knew we couldn't match the intensity,” lamented Guardiola. “They are very aggressive. “They scored early and they could have scored earlier.”

Bournemouth had flown into the game, from the whistle. Before the first goal, Ederson had already made a spectacular double save on Semenyo and then on Justin Kluivert. Very soon, Milos Kerkez, overlapping on the left, beat Phil Foden and put in Semenyo. Josko Gvardiol was ignored as the Ghanaian's spin and shot easily beat Ederson.

The pressure kept up, the exchanges in City's midfield compressed by the energy of their opponents. With his arms crossed, Guardiola got his black leather shoes dirty as he walked down the sideline. Alongside him, Andoni Iraola, the Basque coach whose career makes him one of the main contenders to one day succeed the Catalan, kicked every ball as his team beat Arsenal and toppled the champions. “I've lost so many times against him,” Iraola said of Guardiola. “You have to enjoy it because you know it won't happen often.”

The victory made history: Bournemouth had never beaten a City team in the previous 21 meetings. The last time a point was scored was in 1999, in the third division, Joe Royle as City manager and Shaun Goater as centre-forward.

How did it happen? Answer: Stamina and skill in defence, midfield and attack, plus an excellent performance from backup goalkeeper Mark Travers. Kerkez made a last-man block when Bernardo Silva had the goal open before Bournemouth closed the first half with an almost endless sequence of passes. Few teams dominate City in that way.

“You have to suffer, stay compact,” said Iraola. “We suffered after a good game. We know that there are better teams than us but it is not easy to play here.”

In the second half, Bournemouth chased down another fast start. Semenyo took a long ball and Evanilson forced another save from Ederson. Finally, signs of a possible rebirth of the city began to sound. Foden went wide and tempers were strained when Lewis Cook, Bournemouth's supreme rat, removed Erling Haaland with a back leg.

The fact that Bournemouth was reduced to the hour suggested one-way traffic, only for a counter to be activated in devastating fashion. Semenyo again beat Walker and provided Kerkez, whose low cross found striker Evanilson, who scored. “I'm working on the crosses and getting better,” Kerkez said, and his recent performances announce him as a top prospect.

Meanwhile, Walker, closest to his manager, received constant, concise advice. Finally they changed him to center. “Kyle, 18 days, 19 days without training, a training session with us and today he was there,” said Guardiola, later mitigating those problems for Semenyo.

Bournemouth's lead could have increased further when Marcus Tavernier broke the inside post, but could they hold on now? Travers failed to deflect Gvardiol's header from Ilkay Gündogan's cross to create 10 minutes of tension. Jérémy Doku's dribbling added to the mix and the Belgian forced Travers into a good low save.

Chaos ensued in the six added minutes, Travers saving Haaland and the ball somehow not crossing the line as Haaland hit the woodwork with his follow-through. Finally, Foden shot wide. The champions – ragged, exhausted, stupefied – could find nothing else. And Bournemouth could celebrate.