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Manchester City hosted Bournemouth on Saturday evening at the Etihad Stadium. City came into the game following a 2-2 draw against Lyon in the Champions League. Eddie Howe's Bournemouth had lost all three of their previous Premier League games.
Pep Guardiola rested David Silva and Sergio Aguero for this game. Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez started from the bench. Zinchenko started at left back again and Danilo started on the right back spot for City.
Manchester City took the lead with 15 minutes on the clock. Leroy Sane's shot was saved by Begovic before being hammered home by Bernardo Silva. Towards the end of the first half, Callum Wilson headed past Ederson to make things even. Both teams went into halftime with scores tied at 1-1.
Manchester City wasted no time in taking their lead back. Twelve minutes into the second half, Raheem Sterling struck past Begovic to fire City in front. Ilkay Gundogan's 79th-minute strike sealed the game for the Blues.
Manchester City remains at the top of the table with 38 points. Bournemouth fell to their 4th straight defeat in Premier League for the first time since September 2017. Bournemouth is at 9th spot with 20 points.
We look at three reasons for City's victory.
#3 Manchester City asserted their control at all times and showed intent to score
From the moment referee Stuart Atwell blew his whistle, City were playing with an intent to go ahead. They passed around until they got a good sight at goal. They had to wait only 15 minutes to get their first goal. Bernardo Silva being the scorer.
Once they got the goal, they continued to pass the ball around and look for opportunities. City's wingers ran again and again at Bournemouth's defense with persistence. They were pushed on the back foot for the final five minutes of the first half.
Even without the momentum going towards them, they came out with the same gameplan. Controlling the possession and looking for spaces. Raheem Sterling got City's lead back with only twelve minutes on the clock in the second half. From there on Bournemouth never looked like getting back into the game. Manchester City never got tired of passing around and keeping possession.
They took the game by its scruffs in the second half early. In the absence of experienced players, youngsters showed intent from the moment they stepped on the pitch and ended by winning.
#2 Ilkay Gundogan's superiority in the midfield
Pep Guardiola took Gundogan off in the 69th minute against West Ham. Against Lyon, he did not make the starting lineup. Yesterday against Bournemouth, he made the starting 11 and was the experienced player among youngsters in the forward and midfield positions.
Gundogan dropped a masterclass yesterday. He controlled most of the possession in the midfield while distributing the ball well. He completed 73 passes at the rate of 89%. He was only dribbled once by the opposition and made 4 tackles out of the attempted 5.
Gundogan's short pass to Zinchenko and a screen opened up the chance for Zinchenko to whip the ball in. Gabriel Jesus failed to finish. The German midfielder released Sane again after a few moments with a neat through ball. His positional play was good and he stood with an intent to hit the rebound shots while also running back to defend. He delivered a beautiful free-kick which wasn't finished by Jesus.
His brilliant positioning in the box got City their third goal. Sane's cutback guided in by Gundogan. The goal capped off his brilliant evening.
#1 Leroy Sane's menacing performance
Sane started on the left wing against Bournemouth. Sane's first contribution was his cutback which could have been finished by Gabriel Jesus. He came again through the left wing, no one even attempted to stop him. This time he lobbed a pass which Begovic somehow deflected out of danger.
Sane was released with a through ball and his shot deflected off Begovic. Bernardo Silva finished the rebound leading to the first goal. He was released again from Gundogan's through ball and succeeded in playing Bernardo in again, this time, no goal for the Portuguese. The German came running a few 10 minutes later for a shot attempt but could only blast it over the bar.
In the second half, the German danced through the left wing before passing the ball inside to find Gundogan. Laporte's long ball found Sane meddling in the left wing. He beat his only defender and shot from a tight angle but the shot was saved by Begovic.
Bournemouth hardly managed to stop Sane and his pace. He contributed towards two goals and might have scored another. The prime reason for Manchester City's win.
