THE DREAM DIES
LOSS MEANS LIVERPOOL CAN’T BEAT CITY’S POINTS RECORD
So, back to the football. manchester City won again, but were not even close to upstaging their manager’s display 24 hours prior. maybe that was a tough ask.
not that it matters because being usurped in second place is an impossibility. Chasing down another century of goals for the season is all that is left for the final two games following Saturday’s Fa Cup semi-final.
this was more about the fight shown by Bournemouth, who left having registered significantly more shots than their hosts. the Cherries, realistically, must now win both of their last two matches to stay in the Premier league.
Where was this desire at the beginning of Project Restart? eddie howe hopped on the touchline as substitute David Brooks gave them a late lifeline when 2-0 down. howe then jumped in frustration at the unkindness of VAR. their endeavours deserved more.
‘i’m just absolutely devastated to come away with nothing after putting so much into the game,’ said howe. ‘it is not a time for positives in a sense, but it bodes well for the last two games.’
For City though, it felt all a bit dry after the lord mayor’s Zoom Show. Pep guardiola was already an icon in these parts, of course, given the six major trophies and ‘beautiful football’ — as the club have branded this team’s style in glossy brochures.
Yet his pre-match press conference on tuesday felt like a moment in time: a breathless 23-minute performance that will place him in manchester City cultural legend.
there was a man who looked ready to climb through the webcam lens and give the vocal detractors a good shake. Perhaps something slightly worse for those whispering denigrators inside boardrooms among the ‘hateful eight’ of disapproving rival clubs.
guardiola spoke for the supporters, full of the same emotion and rage they have felt. their reputation has been ‘damaged’, as he put it, over the course of an affair that was, in hindsight, a colossal waste of everybody’s time and money.
Fans were sharing video clips of the manager’s briefing as word quickly spread that he had gone to war with City’s enemies. this week has brought him closer to the fanbase than ever before.
mentions of their history, of maine Road and Colin Bell in particular, struck a chord.
those are references not often heard from the Catalan and they felt pointed. he is completely immersed in this club, more so than ever before.
in normal circumstances, the etihad would have been a firepit last night, a stadium always at its feverish best when filled with irony or anger. or both. Sadly, the response came in empty surroundings, another reminder that David Silva’s quiet ending in england is simply not fitting. his free-kick, in the sixth minute, was sublime, too much curling pace for aaron Ramsdale to keep it out just under his bar.
Silva’s assist six minutes before the break was far simpler, gabriel Jesus taking up responsibility, shimmying past Jack Stacey and Steve Cook before thumping his third goal in a week into Ramsdale’s far corner.
and there it was. that was effectively the game, or so it felt. Bournemouth had been gallant, the aggressors for much of the opening period, yet a two-goal deficit seemed beyond them. the Cherries had chances, ederson had to make a couple of smart stops, and this might have been different had just one flown in.
one did shortly before the hour, Josh King sweeping in from a Junior Stanislas effort. But Stockley Park’s digital rulers noticed a toenail offside. these sort of decisions feel grossly unfair.
‘We were just praying to get the decision,’ rued howe.
Bournemouth valiantly pressed, the sort of display that will give them belief of earning the results required against Southampton and everton to stay up. City had a penalty overturned by VAR, Cook adjudged to have nicked the ball away from Jesus rather than foul him on review. Bournemouth also wanted one for a handball.
‘We couldn’t control them,’ said guardiola. ‘We had a problem with the build-up because their high pressing was so good.’
the amount of chances Bournemouth created was frightening — and finally, with two minutes left, they had their goal. Callum Wilson moved in behind John Stones, and he found Brooks to sweep home. even after that, opportunities came and went.
‘We’re a different team now,’ said howe, but it might be too little, too late for his side.