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7 hours ago
10
Here is where the story ends. Congratulations, Arsenal, champions of England after 22 years. Farewell then, Pep Guardiola, 10 years of dominance ending in anticlimax. Two domestic cups counts as a disappointment in Pep terms. There will be no treble celebration at Manchester’s Co-op Arena leaving party on Monday. Eli Junior Kroupi wrote his name in north London legend for ever, as the title race reached its conclusion on the south coast. Erling Haaland’s late equaliser was nowhere near enough.
Andoni Iraola has been able to keep his future movements secret and he received a post-match send-off from a club grateful for three seasons of progressive, exciting football, capped off by qualifying for Europe for the first time. A point was enough to claim that. His team’s determination to complete the job was too much for opponents who cracked under the pressure of their situation, perhaps distracted by overnight news of the huge change coming their way.
Beyond the serial collection of silverware, Guardiola’s bequest to City is rich. A considerable rebuild has taken place since, in November 2024, a 2-1 defeat at the Vitality Stadium signalled the end of an empire for his treble winners of 2023, the scoreline flattering City. The next manager in, presumed to be Enzo Maresca, will inherit the new breed, players brought in since then such as Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Antoine Semenyo. “Pep stay” read one placard among away fans who begged their manager for “one more year”. In pre-match, Guardiola continued the club policy of avoiding the elephant in the room by saying Monday’s breaking news would have “absolutely zero” effect on his team.
For Bournemouth, with Ryan Christie suspended after his red card at Fulham, Tyler Adams returned to central midfield, where he faced Mateo Kovacic. One last wildcard from the Catalan grandmaster of perplexing selection decisions? The Croatian veteran had played only 40 minutes of Premier League football all season. FA Cup final hero Semenyo lined up against the club he graced until January and who continue to flourish in his absence. Alongside Kovacic, two of Guardiola’s favourite generals, Bernardo Silva, another set to wave goodbye to Manchester, and Rodri, who has been linked with a return to Spain.
Bournemouth, with their own ends to tie up, began by swarming over their opponents, pressing high up while leaving a high line. Jérémy Doku had the first shot as City eventually advanced. On the sidelines, Guardiola, in grey slacks and polished brogues, was far less active than Iraola, his face solemn during bitty early stages where neither team could find any momentum. The expected pattern of City possession with Bournemouth looking to speedy transitions soon came to pass.
City, though, were below their best. Semenyo had the ball in the net in the 13th minute, only to be ruled offside. Soon after that, Evanilson’s blushes were spared when he produced a howling miss of an open net only for a flag to protect his modesty. When Marc Guéhi, another cog in City’s reboot, wrestled down Evanilson, he was fortunate the referee, Anthony Taylor, ruled the shoving match in his favour.
Haaland, after continuing his Wembley duck, was struggling for touch, forced to drop deeper than is customary, though he did have a shot blocked by a sliding Adam Smith. When Kroupi scored his brilliant strike, laid on by Adrien Truffert’s overlap, Haaland grabbed the ball in frustration, barking instructions at Silva.
Guardiola wore a similarly mournful expression as the second half resumed. Deep in conversation with Pepijn Lijnders, his assistant, he rubbed his cranium in trademark fashion. Within seconds of the whistle, he was bellowing commands. It almost had the desired effect, O’Reilly carving towards a Haaland pass and forcing a fine save from Djordje Petrovic.
The better chances were still falling Bournemouth’s way, Evanilson drawing a Donnarumma save after another rapid counter. Soon enough, Guardiola was rolling the dice with the introduction of Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Savinho, youthful legs introduced as Silva and Kovacic departed, Semenyo also coming off to applause from home fans.
Bournemouth sought to take advantage of Guardiola’s turning of the dial. Kroupi might have scored his second, after Evanilson’s flick. Rayan hit the post after chaos at a corner, and had a low shot saved. City rocked on their heels. When Donnarumma took his time over a goal-kick, he was barracked by a manager demanding his team hurry up.
City fought desperately for their way back, determined to show why they were once serial champions, but the ball would not fall their way. As pressure was piled on, Bournemouth did their best to preserve an unbeaten record that stretched longer than any club in Europe’s top five leagues.
On the touchline, Guardiola went through the public agonies that have been a full part of his persona, the supremacy that has dominated English football for the last decade. The old magic was not to be found, Haaland’s thumped goal came too late. A dynasty had reached journey’s end.
