Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has admitted that his side were simply outplayed by Manchester City in their 5-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Manuel Pellegrini's men took an early lead through strikes from Raheem Sterling and Wilfried Bony, but Glenn Murray brought the Cherries back into the match, only for the England international to score two further goals to net his hat-trick before half time.
The second half proved to be a dead-rubber with the contest already decided, but Bony notched his second of the game in the 89th minute, as Howe was left to rue his side's early defensive mistakes.
He told BBC Sport: "It was a difficult afternoon for us. We made a really bad start and gifted them goals which is a recipe for disaster against such a quality team.
"Losing our keeper Artur Boruc just before kick-off was a big blow because he has done so well for us for a long time and he gives the back four a lot of confidence.
"There was a spell in the first half when the score was 3-1 where I thought we were on top but we conceded a crucial goal before half-time. That was a real killer blow in terms of our hopes of getting back into the game in the second half."
Bournemouth are 17th in the Premier League following their defeat to City.
Simon Sinclair
