Arsenal have been crowned 2025/26 Premier League champions after Manchester City's 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
Fixture: Bournemouth vs Manchester CityScore: 1-1Goalscorers: Kroupi (39')/ Haaland (95')
With Arsenal securing a slender win over Burnley on Monday, the newly-crowned FA Cup champions needed to secure maximum points to keep the title race going until the final day of the season on Sunday afternoon.
The pre-match chatter was dominated by reports that City manager Pep Guardiola is set to leave the club at the end of the current season, although he declined to talk about his future in the build-up to the clash.
While the Cherries went with their usual approach, Guardiola decided to bring in Mateo Kovavic alongside Rodri to add a bit more steel to the midfield while Rayan Cherki continued to hold a place on the bench despite City struggling to carve out clear-cut chances.
Bournemouth kept things tidy at times with some good counter-attacks, which was eventually rewarded in the 39th minute Junior Kroupi collected a pass from Adrien Truffert before sending a superb finish into top corner from eight yards out.
After a somewhat disappointing display for the Manchester outfit in the first half, Guardiola went for a different approach in the second half by withdrawing Antoine Semenyo, Bernardo Silva and Kovacic for Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Savinho in an all-out attacking approach.
Even with all the attacking talent on display, Guardiola's charges were unable to find a way back into the contest as Bournemouth did well to stifle all of City's attacks down both flanks.
That would be trend for the remainder of the second half as the Cherries did well to frustrate their Manchester counter-parts while passing up a couple good looks at goal, as the one goal was enough to secure the win and move one point behind fifth-placed Liverpool heading into the final game of the season.
Adrien Truffert was a vital player for the Cherries down the left flank. He did a great job keeping Semenyo quiet defensively and was key for the side going forward, including the getting the assist for Kroupi's goal.
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Source: Soccer Laduma
