Manchester City made it five wins from five games in the Premier League by thumping Bournemouth 4-0 at the Etihad.
Goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Kalechi Iheanacho, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan capped off yet another outstanding performance from the Citizens.
Eddie Howe’s side did not do too much wrong throughout the game but were simply outclassed by a team at the very top of their form. Guardiola’s insistence on his players improving their work-rate has certainly paid off as his side now sit firmly a top the Premier League table.
Manchester City
Caludio Bravo – 5: Was tested no more than a couple of times but was quick off his line to deal with the speed of the Cherries attackers.
Bacary Sagna – 6: Came into the starting lineup for Zabaleta and did not put a foot wrong on a comfortable day for the right-back.
Nicolas Otamendi – 6: Struggled with the pace of Josh King but made up for it with a few well timed challenges and interceptions. Replaced by John Stones before the hour mark.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 6.5: Slotted in comfortably at centre-back and was not worked a lot. Tested Artur Boruc with a few long distance efforts.
Gael Clichy –7: Barely tested in defence, yet was exceptional with his passing for most of the game.
Fernandinho –7: Continued his rock-solid presence in the centre of midfield, quickly becoming a vital player for Guardiola.
Ilkay Gundogan –6: Made his Premier debut for City but was almost invisible throughout the game, until he got on the scoresheet with a well taken goal to register City’s fourth.
Kevin De Bruyne – 9: The Belgian pulled all the strings in the City midfield and was the catalyst in nearly every City attack. Scored with an intelligent free-kick in the first half while his pass cut through the Bournemouth defence to make it easy for Gundogan to score.
Nolito – 5: A decent outing for the Spaniard who gave Brad Smith a torrid time down the left-hand channel and played a key pass in the run-up to Iheanacho’s goal. Sent off in the dying minutes for a silly altercation with Adam Smith.
Raheem Sterling– 8: The winger continues his transformation under Guardiola with another brilliant performance that saw him bag a goal and an assist.
Kalechi Iheanacho – 7: Continued to prove to be a worthy deputy to Sergio Aguero as he doubled City’s lead with an easy tap-in from a Sterling cross and repaid the favour by setting up his teammate in the second half.
Substitutes
John Stones – 5: Came on to give Otamendi a rest and saw out his side’s first clean sheet this season.
Leroy Sane – 5: Replaced the goal scorer Gundogan for the final 20 minutes or so as his side had already wrapped up the game.
Aleix Garcia – 5: Replaced De Bruyne and put in a good shift to help City see out the result.
Bournemouth
Artur Boruc – 5: Not at fault for any of the goals conceded and made a couple of decent saves to prevent City scoring even more.
Adam Smith– 5: Was kept on his toes by Nolito and had a few good runs going forward in the second half. Involved and booked in the scuffle that saw the City midfielder sent off.
Simon Francis– 4: Struggled to cope with the opposition’s pacey attacks and was easily caught out when the hosts were on the counter.
Steve Cook – 4: Like Francis, he had a tough outing against a very good City side and will have to work harder against the bigger teams.
Charlie Daniels – 3: Simply could not deal with Sterling and made a number of unnecessary errors as well.
Harry Arter – 5: Virtually isolated in midfield as City continued to dominate possession. Had to work hard to help out in defence.
Andrew Surman – 4: Barely enjoyed any possession and was forced to chase the game throughout the match.
Jack Wilshere – 4 –: Made his first start for the Cherries and it was not the best of performances from the Arsenal loanee. Gave away the free-kick that De Bruyne scored from. Replaced in the second half.
Junior Stanislas – 4: Could not use his pace much as his side could do nothing more than chase down the ball.
Jordan Ibe – 3: The former Liverpool man endured his toughest outings in a Cherries shirt as he was allowed no freedom on the ball by the Sky Blue players.
Joshua King – 6: Did well to conjure up a few attacks for his side as he was left a lone figure up front. Used his pace smartly to get in behind Otamendi on a few occasions.
Substitutes
Callum Wilson – 4: Smashed the post in the second half, only to be ruled out offside. Did not contribute much apart from that.
Dan Gosling– 4: Straight swap for Wilshere, but had no more of an impact on the game.
Max Gardel – 3: Replaced Stanislas for the final 15 minutes. Could not make a meaningful impression.
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