Erling Haaland has broken his silence after Manchester City’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Bournemouth. Haaland, who started the season with a bang by scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games, has seen a dip, managing only one goal in his last five Premier League appearances.
Saturday’s defeat at the Vitality Stadium saw City trailing after Antoine Semenyo struck early. Evanilson doubled Bournemouth’s lead just after the hour mark, and while Josko Gvardiol managed to pull one back in the dying minutes, it wasn’t enough to salvage a result. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s win over Brighton has now put City two points behind in the title race, adding extra weight to the loss.
Following the game, Haaland took to Instagram to express his frustration, sharing a picture of himself from the match with the caption, “Head down, back to work.” Gvardiol also posted on his story, calling Tyler Adams, his former RB Leipzig teammate, “brate” (meaning “brother” in Croatian). The two had shared numerous moments on the pitch back in Leipzig, reaching a Europa League semi-final and lifting the DFB-Pokal trophy together.
Speaking post-match, Pep Guardiola admitted Bournemouth’s intensity was tough to match. “We couldn’t match up to the intensity,” he noted. “In all the situations with long balls, we couldn’t win them. When you don’t win those types of balls—whether it’s with Semenyo or other players—our defenders and strikers have to defend deeper.”
Guardiola explained further, pointing out the challenges his squad faces due to recent injuries. “We have players with rhythm, but others lack it because of the limited training they could do. It’s an uncomfortable balance,” he said. “We played well against Spurs, but today we couldn’t handle Bournemouth’s intensity, and that’s why we lost.”
