Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth (Premier League) | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne bowed out from the Etihad Stadium for the final time as he captained Manchester City to a hugely important 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

The greatest player to ever wear the shirt made his final appearance at home for the club, putting on another classy performance and guiding his side to a crucial victory in the race for a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League competition.

City needed four points from a possible six prior to kick-off in their remaining two games, and the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth gave the blues a massive boost in their quest to return to Europe’s top competition next season.

In his farewell to the Etihad Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne started the match in typically mesmerising fashion, playing a couple of tremendous passes to carve out chances all by himself, none of which could be converted by teammates, however.

With a quarter of the game gone, Manchester City’s frustration was growing visibly, that was until Omar Marmoush picked the ball up and carried it, before unleashing an absolute rocket into the top corner from at least 30 yards. A simply spectacular strike.

Marmoush continued his excellent work, threatening the Bournemouth defence before firing a low cross perfectly into the path of De Bruyne, who hit the bar from five yards out in front of an open goal. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.

The visitors refused to go down without a fight though, breaking down the Manchester City right with an early cross into Evanilson, who stretched to shoot, firing an effort against the right post before the attack broke down.

City doubled their lead after 37 minutes, when a sliding tackle from Bernardo Silva regained possession inside the Bournemouth box, before Ilkay Gundogan laid the ball back into the path of the Portuguese midfielder, who hit a low shot into the near post to score a second.

Into the second half, a huge roar emerged from the Etihad Stadium without a goal being scored, as Rodri – who was in a matchday squad for the first time since September – began warming up to a huge ovation.

A stray pass in defence lead to a horrific moment while City were on top, as Bournemouth pounced on a misplaced ball from Josko Gvardiol, leaving Mateo Kovacic helpless but to pull his man down, before being sent off upon 67 minutes.

The red card subsequently lead to the substitution of Kevin De Bruyne, who left the Etihad Stadium for the final time in a Manchester City shirt, to an outstanding round of applause and chants. An emotional moment all round for the club.

Five minutes after the Kovacic red card, Lewis Cook generously decided to level the playing field, committing a horrific challenge on Nico before deservedly being sent off for it.

In the dying embers of the game, City picked Bournemouth apart on the counter-attack, with Matheus Nunes finding Nico on the break, who controlled the ball and curled his effort round the defender, giving the goalkeeper no chance.

The Sky Blues couldn’t hold on to their clean sheet however, with 30 seconds to go another clanger in defence cost Manchester City, as Daniel Jebbison evaded Ruben Dias before beating Ederson, making it 3-1.

That was all she wrote for this game and for Kevin De Bruyne’s last game in a Manchester City shirt at the Etihad Stadium. Here is how we rated the players’ performances from Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 6.5

Entirely untroubled in the Manchester City goal. A nice and quiet evening for the Brazilian.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5

Terrific evening from Matheus Nunes, keeping the Bournemouth left hand side quiet, making a few key tackles and blocks and finding himself in the right place more often than not.

Manuel Akanji – 7

Not much to do in what was a comfortable evening for the Manchester City defence.

Ruben Dias – 6.5

Rather sloppy in possession at times, giving the ball away carelessly in defence and couldn’t pick the ball back up before conceding the goal.

Josko Gvardiol – 6.5

Misplaced the pass which lead to the red card for Mateo Kovacic. A quiet night outside of that stand alone incident.

Ilkay Gundogan – 7.5

Solid outing for Ilkay Gundogan, who picked up a tidy assist for Manchester City’s second goal.

Mateo Kovacic – 5

A red card for the Croatian international after 67 minutes, but an otherwise fine display.

Kevin De Bruyne – 10 (MOTM)

How could we not? The greatest player to ever wear the shirt laid his hat in the ring for the final time, as he captained his side to victory once more. There’s only one Kevin De Bruyne.

Bernardo Silva – 8

Shades of the old Bernardo Silva with his display tonight, dazzling in midfield while even grabbing a goal.

Omar Marmoush – 8

Opened the scoring with a phenomenal strike. A clinical display from the Egyptian overall.

Erling Haaland – 7

Erling Haaland seemed more determined to give Kevin De Bruyne a goal than he did to score himself. A tame afternoon in front of goal, but a solid display all round.

Substitutes

Nico – 7

Did his job tidily when called upon and picked up his first goal for Manchester City in the Premier League.

Rodri – N/A

Not enough action to provide a rating, but how nice was it to see him return to the Etihad?

Jeremy Doku – N/A

Oscar Bobb – N/A

Jack Grealish – N/A