In their farewell match at the Etihad Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester City defeated Bournemouth 3-1, adding three crucial points to the team's goal of hitting the top five.

Although the shadow of the FA Cup final defeat has not completely dissipated, Guardiola stressed before the game that any distraction should not interfere with the team's task of qualifying for the Champions League. De Bruyne's farewell game and Rodrigo's comeback are certainly eye-catching, but Manchester City will focus firmly on winning.

In the 14th minute, Omar Malmouch scored a world-class goal to break the deadlock. Later, Bernardo Silva scored another goal with a wonderful shot. But before that, De Bruyne missed a close opportunity - he hit the ball on the crossbar after Malmouch's inverted triangle pass, and he himself said it was a "bad mistake" after the game.

The Belgian midfielder, who had played brilliantly in the blue shirt for ten years, became the focus of the game. He finished his farewell performance amid the cheers of the fans. In the first half, Bournemouth had almost no chance to fight back, and it was not until the second half that they showed some improvement.

In the middle of the game, Kovacic was sent off for a tactical foul on Evanilsson, which made the situation on the field a little tense. However, just six minutes later, Bournemouth's Lewis Cook was directly sent off for a reckless tackle, and the number of players on both sides was equal again. Nico Gonzalez then used a powerful shot to extend the score to 3-0 and seal the victory.

Although Daniel Jebson saved a goal for Bournemouth in injury time, ending Manchester City's dream of a clean sheet, Manchester City temporarily rose to third place in the Premier League standings with this victory, two points ahead of Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa, with only one game left.

This was Rodri's official return since his anterior cruciate ligament injury in September last year. Guardiola called it an "almost perfect" night after the game. For Bournemouth, their dream of hitting the top eight in the Premier League was officially shattered.