It was a brave display that Bournemouth gave against Man City. It is one thing to set out to defend for 90 minutes and quite another to carry out the plan. The whole team tried to stick to their task and mark their man and while they did that for most of the game, Mahrez ran off the back of Ryan Fraser and Daniels couldn't get back to cover when Mahrez had time to shoot past Boruc.
It was a shock to see Jack Simpson get another game in this fixture of all the matches Eddie Howe could pick to play him in, but he has everything you need to be a top Premier League defender. What was noticeable was that the defenders were working together well. They didn't get in each others way despite there being so many bodies in Bournemouth's box.
Holding out against City was always going to need a bit of luck as well. Bournemouth didn't get that on the afternoon. A point would have been a fantastic reward for the player's efforts, but they have to see this as a good performance where they did what the manager asked of the and defended well for most of the game.
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| Despite the defensive organisation, AFCB couldn't keep Man City out. |
The team looked defender heavy when it was released, and sure enough Howe had decided to go with a back five with Adam Smith in midfield to give extra protection on the right and Brooks placed next to Surman to try and give King some kind of possession, if Bournemouth could break. It was interesting to see that Gosling had been dropped and while that was the case, my eagle-eyed friend, Damien Hill, said he didn't see him on the bench even though he was named among the subs.
It was a shock to see Jack Simpson get another game in this fixture of all the matches Eddie Howe could pick to play him in, but he has everything you need to be a top Premier League defender. What was noticeable was that the defenders were working together well. They didn't get in each others way despite there being so many bodies in Bournemouth's box.
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Holding out against City was always going to need a bit of luck as well. Bournemouth didn't get that on the afternoon. A point would have been a fantastic reward for the player's efforts, but they have to see this as a good performance where they did what the manager asked of the and defended well for most of the game.
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