Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth: Kovacic is dyed red, Rodri returns, Haaland is silent

In the 37th round of the Premier League at 3:00 am on May 21, Manchester City beat Bournemouth 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium. With this victory, he surpassed Newcastle and Chelsea with 68 points, jumped to third in the standings, completely grasping the initiative in the Champions League qualification, and then tied the next round to determine the Champions League ticket. In addition to the Golden Ball Mr. Rodri, who has recovered from injury after eight months, Manchester City has received good news.

Excellent moments of the game: In the 14th minute of the first half, Kovacic passed straight in the middle, and substitute Marmush suddenly shot a cold arrow outside the penalty area. The ball hit the lower edge of the crossbar and bounced into the net. This "cloud-piercing arrow" broke the deadlock.

In the 38th minute, B's team received a knock-back from Gundogan and scored a low shot, expanding the score to 2-0, but the turning point occurred in the 67th minute: Gvadior made a mistake in the return pass, Kovacic made a foul and knocked down Evan Nelson. He was sent off for the "last man" defense, and Manchester City was forced to fight ten people.

Despite the disadvantage of the number of players, Manchester City stabilized the situation with Guardiola's decisive substitution. In the 83rd minute, Rodri, a midfielder who had been recuperated for 8 months, made a substitute. The Etihad Stadium was instantly boiling, and Espanyol's return injected a booster into the team. In stoppage time, Gonzalez received a wonderful pass from Nunes outside the foot and scored, completely locking in the victory. Bournemouth only scored a comfort goal by Jebison before the end of the game and failed to rewrite the defeat.

Although Manchester City won this game, the defense problems are still prominent: Guvadior's fatal return pass error and Nunes's goal concedes the ball in the backcourt caused points, exposing the chain reaction of the main players such as Stones and Aker. In addition, Haaland's shot failed to win in one shot in the game, and the two consecutive games were silent, which caused concerns about his condition, especially the transfer of midfielder De Bruyne next season, weakened the team's strength.

Before this game, Manchester City was only 1 point away from the Champions League. This victory not only allowed them to return to third place, but also left the pressure on their competitors. If Fulham draws against him in the last round, Manchester City will secure a seat in the Champions League. Guardiola admitted after the game: "We have experienced injuries, red cards and controversy, but the players have shown resilience. Rodri's return is the biggest gift at the end of the season."

Kovacic's red card became a hot topic after the game. In Premier League rules, the "last man" tactical foul is usually red, but some fans believe that Evan Nelson has not formed an absolute single shot, and the referee's penalty is too strict, while Bournemouth Cook's flying tackle in the 73rd minute is undisputed due to the danger of movement.

Manchester City's season fate will depend on the final round of the match against Fulham, while Bournemouth needs to reflect on the away weak (the away win rate this season is less than 30%) and defensive loopholes. Strengthening the defense line in the summer window and retaining the core Cruivett (no substitute in this game) may become the key to the rise of the Cherries next season.

From Marmush's stunning long shot to Rodri's warm return, this 3-1 game is not only a victory, but also means that the overall situation of the Premier League in the 24-25 season has been decided. The only suspense is which teams get the Champions League tickets that are exciting.