Manchester City eased past Bournemouth to move up to third place in Kevin de Bruyne’s final match at the Etihad Stadium.
The 33-year-old had the opportunity to put City 2-0 up in the first half after a screamer from Omar Marmoush, but he hit the crossbar from inside the six yard box from the Egyptian forward’s low cross.
It was in fact Bernardo Silva who scored City’s second goal, collecting Ilkay Gundogan’s pass and slotting past Kepa Arrizabalaga at his near post.
Both sides were reduced to ten men in the second half, with Mateo Kovacic sent off for City and Lewis Cook sent off six minutes later for the visitors, meaning both players are suspended for the last day of the season.
Nico Gonzalez, who was fouled by Cook for the red card and replaced De Bruyne in his big farewell shortly after Kovacic’s red, completed the scoring with a fine strike from the edge of the box.
Daniel Jebbinson pulled a goal back late on for Bournemouth but it was too little too late for the Cherries.
As well as De Bruyne’s emotional post match presentation in front of the Etihad, we also saw Rodri’s first appearance since September following his anterior cruciate ligament injury, replacing Erling Haaland for the last ten minutes or so.
The Blues now need just a point to almost guarantee a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, and then the players will receive a few weeks holiday before focusing on the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Here are three things we learned from the win over Bournemouth:
De Bruyne is best to be leaving on a high
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Everything about yesterday, including the fantastic lights show, video tribute compilation featuring City legends, Pep Guardiola’s tears of emotion and De Bruyne’s words to the fans with his family by his side, was perfect.
It was brilliant to see Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, Joe Hart, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Aymeric Laporte amongst others pay tribute to De Bruyne, and it reminded us of just how lucky we’ve been as City fans in the last few years.
In the game itself, De Bruyne clearly struggled, at least to some extent. He gave the ball away cheaply a few times and doesn’t have the explosiveness that he once has - clearly not the force of nature he once was.
But that’s ok. He leaves City still as a very, very good player, and whilst he may think he’s still good enough to contribute I personally think it’s best he leaves now before he deteriorates any further.
A statue is the bare minimum of what he should be receiving. The Kevin de Bruyne stand, opposite the Colin Bell stand, has a nice ring to it, and I’d struggle to see anyone wear the number 17 shirt again.
And I’m glad he left now, so such a fuss could be made of him, because, as the best player in Premier League history, no-one deserves it more than him.
A humble, family orientated, talented, intelligent and overall brilliant man - and that’s not mentioning how good he is on the pitch. Thank you for everything KDB - now is the time to depart on a high.
Rodri will be like a new signing next season
Manchester City FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
The ovation Rodri received both when warming up and then when coming on can only be matched by De Bruyne in 2023 against Sheffield United, causing Jurgen Klopp to claim the “world was shaking.”
He immediately came on and in his short time on the pitch, did things only Rodri can do. A few times, he was the sharpest player to pick up a second ball. He looked rusty, understandably, at times, but also showed immense strength and technical ability with the ball.
He shouldn’t start any games in the Club World Cup or against Fulham at the weekend, but in my opinion, I’d be looking to build up his fitness off the bench so he can start games next season.
Along with a fit again Oscar Bobb, a mentally recharged Phil Foden and a post surgery Nathan Ake (assuming he stays) that’s four players that have missed large parts of this season that could easily make a huge difference next year.
The squad has to be trimmed and improved this summer
Manchester City FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League Photo by Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images
But right now, the squad is too big.
Savinho, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rico Lewis, James McAtee, Vitor Reis, Claudio Echeverri and the injured John Stones all missed out of City’s matchday squad, which Guardiola said “hurt his soul.”
The 54-year-old said he’d leave City if the squad wasn’t cut down this summer, which may just be hyperbolic, but when everyone’s fit it does make for some tough decisions.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Tijjani Reijnders are linked to joining, and rumours suggest that the Blues may be in for a right back, a left back and a number ten, with Dani Olmo linked for the third summer in a row.
This means we’re probably going to see a few players leave without replacement. McAtee, Stones, Ake, Matheus Nunes, Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish could be on the chopping block, whilst Echeverri and Reis could be in line for a loan.
It’ll be an interesting and eventful summer, but City have an important game against Fulham to focus on and a tournament in the USA first.