Manchester City 4-0 Bournemouth
by James Nalton
at the City of Manchester Stadium

MANCHESTER CITY eased to their second win in as many games at the start of the new season, defeating Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s side also kept another clean sheet meaning that, of the teams who had played two games by Saturday evening, only themselves and Newcastle were yet to concede.

Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring after Erling Haaland held off a couple of defenders, eventually hooking a through ball into the German’s path.

Haaland should have had one of his own in the first half but Phil Foden took a shot rather than squaring for his teammate for a tap-in.

Foden impressed generally, though, getting the assist for De Bruyne’s excellent solo effort before the favour was returned for Foden to net the third.

A Jefferson Lerma own goal following some great play from Joao Cancelo rounded off the win for the home side in the second half.

A game against a newly promoted team isn’t normally the type of result that sends a message out to the rest of the league, but seeing as title rivals Liverpool were unable to beat Fulham in their first game of the season, maybe on this occasion it does.

City never looked like they would struggle in this game. Haaland barely touched the ball but still felt very involved in the game thanks to his movement and presence.

Bournemouth used Colombian midfielder Lerma as the central defender in a back three as Haaland loomed.

“It’s not just Haaland,” Bournemouth boss Scott Parker said after the game.

“I get why people would highlight him —  he’s a new signing, and an exceptional centre forward — but I see quality all over the pitch. If you focus on one player, there’s another popping up.”

Nathan Ake impressed at the back for City against his old club, and Bournemouth may have had more chances on the break were it not for his interventions.

Guardiola was pleased with the second clean sheet and the way his side thwarted these counter-attacks, and Ake played a big part in that.

“Today we conceded just one shot on target and one in the game against West Ham to a header outside the box,” said Guardiola.

“We didn’t concede much. With the ball, we are incredibly organised. And when we lose the ball [we] can’t forget [our organisation] so we don't concede counter-attacks.”

As City fans made their way home on a sweltering summer afternoon, news began to filter through that their city rivals Manchester United were 4-0 down to Brentford with little over half an hour gone. 

There was already a feel-good factor around east Manchester, and that increased following this latest instalment of Man United’s mishaps.

The early table doesn’t mean much, but the performances do, and in this regard, City have had an encouraging start to the season.