Man City one step closer to Champions League ticket

The resounding victory at Etihad Stadium in round 37 helped Man City rise to 3rd place with 68 points, 2 points ahead of 7th place Aston Villa. Just need to win 1 more point in the final round against Fulham, Pep Guardiola's team will have a ticket to the most prestigious cup tournament in Europe.

In case of equal points, Aston Villa will hardly surpass Man City due to the huge difference in goal difference (+9 compared to +26). Fans have been able to determine 3 out of 5 Premier League teams participating in the 2025/26 Champions League, which are Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City.

The remaining two tickets are a competition between Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham.

Man City managed to salvage a terrible season.

Under pressure to endure a first trophyless season under Pep Guardiola since 2016/17, the Manchester club reacted strongly after their FA Cup final defeat.

From the very first minutes, Man City showed their determination with an overwhelming and pressing style of play. The results soon came to the Etihad team when the new player transferred from Frankfurt in January, Omar Marmoush, took a powerful long-range shot, sending the ball straight into the top corner of the goal. Man City had an impressive opening goal in the 14th minute. This was also Marmoush's 7th goal in the Premier League.

Manchester City continued to create clear chances after the goal. Kevin De Bruyne, in his last appearance at the Etihad, almost added to the lead but his close-range effort hit the crossbar. Bournemouth also had a chance to equalise when Evanilson hit the post, but they were made to pay when Bernardo Silva doubled their lead in the 38th minute after an assist from Ilkay Gündogan.

In the second half, Bournemouth tried to push up the squad to find a goal to reduce the gap. However, Antoine Semenyo missed a golden opportunity when he shot the ball wide.

The visitors' hopes were rekindled when Mateo Kovacic was shown a straight red card for a foul on Evanilson in the 67th minute. However, just seven minutes later, Bournemouth's numerical advantage vanished when Lewis Cook was also sent off for a rough tackle on Nico Gonzalez.

In a 10-on-10 game, City were still in control. Rodri’s return from injury solidified City’s midfield, and it was substitute Nico González who sealed a 3-1 win in the 88th minute with a classy finish. Although Daniel Jebbison scored a consolation goal for Bournemouth in stoppage time, Manchester City still deserved the win.