Andoni Iraola is still very respectful of the threat than **Man City**could carry against Bournemouth.
The Citizens lost 1-0 to Aston Villa last weekend, falling six points adrift of league leaders Arsenal. However, with Erling Haaland as an even greater talisman than in the past, the team has still shown that they can fight at the top end of the table after the catastrophic collapse from the end of 2024.
The Basque believes a repeat of the triumph from last November is possible but it must be earned.
“I think it was an important game for us that win. We've just beaten them once, you know, all the other games they've beaten us. We don't have even, I think not even a point away. So I think just beating them for first time it was like, okay, it's possible in a certain day where we play very well, probably they don't have their best day.
“We can do it. That gave us some confidence because I remember also was the same way we beat Arsenal both games at home and it gave us some more confidence. That is always welcome.
“They are definitely a very, very good team. They are very, very good team. If this is the worst in five years, it's because they've been amazing. Amazing. They are still, I think, playing very well.
“I think the other day against Villa, they played a very good game after to beat these kind of teams, Villa scored from a set piece. They won over the line. These things have to go to your side if you have to have a chance against teams like City. But they are playing very well. They have Erling Haaland that is probably better than ever, scoring a lot of goals. So he's very demanding. We know this.
“I wouldn't say they changed their style. I think they've even become more dangerous in transitions. They still control games a lot. They have a lot of the ball. They push you a lot, put you under pressure.
“They are exploiting even better the transitions. They play more direct when they recover: it makes them even more dangerous. Yes, I think they've added one more tool to an already very good squad.”