By Nurudeen Obalola
Bournemouth stunned Manchester City 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday to end the English Premier League champions’ 32-match unbeaten run in the competition.
The result opened the way for Liverpool to go to the top of the table as they defeated Brighton 2-1 at Anfield, while Super Eagles defender Ola Aina scored a screamer to help Nottingham Forest to a 3-0 home win over West Ham.
Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo’s early strike and Evanilson’s goal with 26 minutes left on the clock earned Bournemouth the shock victory, with Josko Gvardiol pulling one back for City late on.
Bournemouth did not just end Pep Guardiola’s side’s long streak stretching back to last season, they also avoided defeat to Manchester City for the first time after 14 straight losses.
With the result, City dropped to second spot in the table, two points behind new leaders Liverpool, who came from behind to beat Brighton, while Bournemouth climbed to eighth.
The Seagulls stunned Anfield into silence when Ferdi Kadioglu opened the scoring in the 14th minute, but Liverpool turned it around with two goals in three minutes from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah in the second half.
The victory means Arne Slot is the first Liverpool manager ever to win eight of his opening 10 Premier League matches, as Brighton slipped to seventh.
At the City Ground, Nigeria international Aina sealed Forest’s victory with a powerful long-range strike with his left foot in the 78th minute, adding to goals from Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi again 10-man West Ham, who had Edson Alcarez sent off just before half-time.
Forest climbed above Arsenal to fourth in the table, while West Ham dropped to 14th.
Super Eagles stars Joe Aribo and Paul Onuachu were second half substitutes, the former early and the latter in added time, as Southampton earned their first win of the season by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.
Adam Armstrong scored the only goal of the encounter in the 85th minute as the Saints moved off the bottom of the table and won a Premier League game for the first time since March 2023, ending their longest ever winless run in the competition.
In the other Premier League match on Saturday, Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi featured for 71 minutes for Leicester City as they earned a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, with Ghana striker Jordan Ayew netting a stoppage-time equaliser.
RESULTS
Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham
Southampton 1-0 Everton
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City
