This was one of those games whereby Pep Guardiola’s body language told almost all of the story. Manchester City may have cut Liverpool’s advantage at the top to a point but their inadvertent weapon of choice here was more pair of scissors than sledgehammer. The sight of Guardiola crouching on the edge of his technical area, restlessly peering either side of the assistant referee Darren Cann to analyse the picture as Bournemouth burst to breaking point in search of an equaliser provided a snapshot of quite how uncomfortable a ride this proved.
Guardiola’s nervous energy is for good reason. They are, ostensibly, in a three-way title race and he spent much of his post-match press conference with one eye on a television at the back of the room showing Arsenal’s joust with Newcastle. City have their eyes fixed on winning a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons and their quest to clinch a second Champions League resumes against Copenhagen next month. Then there is the FA Cup, a fifth-round trip to Luton next up on Tuesday.
