Manchester City recorded wins of 6-0, 6-1, 6-1, 5-0, 5-0 and 4-0 en route to Premier League glory last season – but the victory that most pleased Pep Guardiola was a humble 1-0.



It was, to the neutral, a forgettable encounter: a Saturday 3pm kick-off away at Bournemouth, who City haven’t dropped a single point against in their eight Premier League meetings. It wasn’t a highlight of the weekend: everyone was focused on a thrilling north London derby at Wembley, and looking forward to the Merseyside derby the following day. OK, City beat Bournemouth 1-0 with a scrappy Riyad Mahrez goal. So what?



To Guardiola, it was possibly the most impressive performance of City’s campaign because of his side’s defensive display. It was a complete shutout: Bournemouth didn’t attempt a single shot in the entire game. Of the 380 Premier League matches last season, and therefore 760 instances of teams contesting a game, it was the only occasion that a...