Pep Guardiola makes brutally honest admission as Man City lose to Bournemouth

Manchester City boss admitted his side "could not handle Bournemouth's intensity" and said there was an "uncomfortable balance" in his team.

The reigning champions were Stadium on Saturday as Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson struck before Josko Gvardiol pulled one back - but City could not find a result.

It was their second straight defeat after being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by in midweek, and before that they had only narrowly squeezed past relegation-threatened sides and .

City are not the same free-flowing side they were last season after a string of injuries to some key players - including Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne - and Guardiola said the absences were taking their toll.

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, , Ruben Dias and Oscar Bobb are the other players sitting in the physio room at present in a testing time for City.

"It is what it is," he said, speaking to Match of the Day after City's first ever loss to Bournemouth. "We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes so the balance is a bit uncomfortable.

"We played good against Spurs but today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that's why we lost the game. It was an open game. We had chances at the end but I congratulate for the victory.

"They are so aggressive. They had six-seven days to prepare. They have physicality and speed, but you have to win these types of situations. After we scored we had momentum and chances but couldn't score [again]."

The defeat comes as a crushing blow to City and their hopes of retaining the title this season - after watching come from behind to beat 2-1 to go two points clear of their rivals.

City have a huge game against the Reds looming on December 1 so Guardiola will know it's vital his side pick up as many points as possible until then.

Next up is a trip to Sporting Lisbon to face his future foe Ruben Amorim in one of the last games before his move to Old Trafford, then a trip to a dangerous Brighton team on November 9.

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