IT WAS the biggest betting banker of the entire sporting weekend – and Manchester City and Phil Foden did not disappoint the punters.
Few things are guaranteed these days in professional sport but Bournemouth failing to pop their cherry against City is probably as near as damn it.
Manchester City ensured they are still within touching distance of Liverpool
Phil Foden bagged the only goal of game in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth
This was their FOURTEENTH successive Premier League triumph over the Cherries.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Bournemouth have NEVER beaten the Etihad troops in any of their 20 league meetings spread over 37 years.
Remarkably, it is the most number of times any side has ever faced another without winning in English Football League history.
And those in red-and-black stripes must be getting mighty sick of seeing the sight of Foden – because his first-half winner represented his fifth goal in five consecutive appearances against them in all competitions.
The gulf in class, not just on the pitch but in terms of financial muscle, is so vast that it is probably going to be a long, long time before Bournemouth ever manage to reverse their fortunes
The worst result of their season was the 6-1 walloping that they received away to the hands of the world and European champions last November.
Despite surviving that crushing defeat at City, Andoni Iraola—who had only started playing English football in June of the previous year—would have discovered a great deal about himself and his players’ mindsets.
To be fair, the team overcame that setback by winning six of the following seven league games to make sure they stayed out of the trapdoor over the holidays.
With their dismal record against the blue half of Manchester, the fans had come here more with hope than expecting.
The stadium DJ tried to get everyone going by playing a segment of Al Pacino’s famous up-and-at-them American Football speech in Any Given Sunday.
But in truth, to stand any chance of a famous first-ever victory, Bournemouth were praying that City would have “a bad day” on a chilly night by the Dorset seaside.
Erling Haaland would have been used to the conditions given his Nordic background but he was nowhere near his best here.
And his first involvement in the contest was not exactly in keeping with his recent blistering form.
The tall Norwegian was fed through onside by a deft Foden layoff but after controlling with his left foot, he fired wide with his right on eight minutes.
Nine times out of ten you would have seen him bury that with little fuss.
Phil Foden netted his ninth league goal of the season
It was a surprise mis-hit by someone of his world-class calibre – and how the Bournemouth fans in the Steven Fletcher Stand loved that misfortune.
Seconds later, Cherries left-back Milos Kerkez showed Haaland how to hit the target with a stinger of a left-footed drive from outside of the box that saw a brilliant reaction save by City stopper Ederson.
Defensively Bournemouth had done well to keep City at bay in the early skirmishes but the problem is you cannot switch off for a second – as Marcos Senesi found to his cost on 24 minutes.
Mateo Kovacic launched the ball over the top and Haaland, with the strength of an ox, wriggled free from the Argentine centre-back.
And though the No.9’s initial shot was saved by the left hand of Neto, Foden was on hand to provide the finish in his mauve-coloured boots.
Running off towards the corner flag, the England star put a finger to his lips to silence the home fans and then did an arrows celebration on one knee.
The Bournemouth punters went off for their half-time pie and pint with some X-rated comments about the first-half display of referee Jarred Gillett, who had angered them with his inconsistent blowing.
The official upset many when he decided against giving a foul when Jeremy Doku upended Adam Smith outside of the penalty area on 78 minutes.
But quite honestly, it was their own team’s failings in front of goal which ultimately meant they did not grab a point.
Especially as they improved significantly in the second half and City went off the boil even with Kevin De Bruyne making a brief cameo as a substitute.
Bournemouth’s best chance came on 68 minutes and involved their top-scorer Dominic Solanke, who was otherwise quiet and ineffective throughout.
The header he won from a corner after out-muscling former teammate Nathan Ake was a strong one but Ederson magnificently double-fisted it off the goal line.
City had to withstand a late push from Bournemouth
The top three teams won this round, making the gap still very tight at the top of the table. Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal all have 18 wins and only differ in the number of draws. Man City ranked second with 59 points, one point behind Liverpool and one point ahead of Arsenal.