Pep Guardiola Hails His Man City "Supermens" After Win at Bournemouth

Pep Guardiola described his Manchester City players as "Supermens" following Saturday's 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

City started strongly at the Vitality Stadium and took the lead in the 24th minute when Phil Foden scored from a rebound after Neto had parried a shot from Erling Haaland.

But the rest of the game was a slog for Guardiola's side, who came under plenty of pressure from the team ranked 14th in the Premier League table.

Bournemouth recorded 13 shots, including four that forced City goalkeeper Ederson into saves.

Guardiola did not look particularly satisfied at the end of the match.

However, when asked during a post-game interview with Sky Sports if he was happy with what he had seen, Guardiola replied: "A lot. [I liked] everything. I adore my players. They are Supermens."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola pictured after his team's 1-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday

IMAGO/Focus Images/Jeremy Landey

Guardiola praised Bournemouth too and said: "This is a tough place to come. They are a fantastic team that all the time go, go, go."

But the City manager also suggested that the Cherries had an unfair advantage in Saturday's game due to their lighter fixture list.

City have now played 40 games this season in all competitions - 10 more than Bournemouth.

Guardiola said: "We come from many years playing every three days for 11 months.

"They (Bournemouth) had seven days to prepare for that game. We have always less.

"So when the people say: 'Yeah, you play in the same conditions in the Premier League', no, no.

"We don't play in the same equality. We have much more games to play than the rest."

City have played seven games in the Champions League so far this season, plus two at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Guardiola's men were also involved in the FA Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup in August.