Bournemouth manager Marco Rose believed his side had Pep Guardiola’s side exactly where they needed them after the interval and were well placed to make the journey back to the south coast with at least a share of the spoils, though they found it difficult to hold on during the final exchanges.
The visitors held a one-goal advantage entering the 84th minute at the Etihad Stadium, only for Marc Guehi to climb highest and nod in an unmarked header from a set-piece to draw the home side level.
City then pushed hard for a late victory and secured one in the opening minute of stoppage time, with Josko Gvardiol placing his shot precisely into the far bottom corner beyond the reach of Djordje Petrovic.
Rose stated that he sensed Bournemouth had seized the initiative following the restart leading up to City’s opening goal.
When pressed on what he meant by this, the German coach explained that he simply sensed it when, although he was unsure exactly when, the opposition began altering their approach and started deploying different tactics.
City attempted to hit on the counter-attack, working the ball to the byline, and committed a pair of straightforward errors. Rose felt at that moment that if Bournemouth handled the situation correctly, they would create some opportunities to retain possession as well, since the hosts were not pressing as intensely and vigorously because even for them the match had been exhausting.
City required considerable effort. Rose simply believed that if Bournemouth executed their strategy properly, they could capitalise on a breakaway opportunity and wrap up the victory. If not, they would need to defend resolutely until the dying moments and potentially several minutes beyond that.
Rose acknowledged that he anticipated facing an exceptional City side, despite their 3-0 Community Shield loss to Arsenal.
He said defending against them presented significant difficulties. They possessed tremendous ability. However, Bournemouth also demonstrated some vulnerabilities. That had been the strategy and it functioned admirably for a sustained period, yet they found the final eight minutes particularly challenging.