Kevin De Bruyne ran the show while Ilkay Gundogan was solid as Manchester City beat Bournemouth 4-0 at the Etihad on Saturday.
Manchester City dominated the proceedings from the get-go, with Bournemouth barely threatening the hosts at the Etihad. The Cherries managed just one shot on target in the first half, with Ederson Moraes keeping the effort out without much fuss. But Bournemouth knew nothing about the home team’s exploits.
Manchester City deservedly went ahead in the 19th minute through Ilkay Gundogan, who finished a slick move, with Erling Haaland producing a dogged assist. Manchester City continued ebbing away at Bournemouth before doubling the advantage at the half-hour mark through Kevin De Bruyne, whose finish from outside the boot easily beat Mark Travers.
De Bruyne then turned provider for Foden, but Travers should have denied the English attacker, who shot straight at him. Manchester City thus went into half-time with a three-goal lead and remained on top after the break. But the reigning Premier League champions had to wait until the 79th minute to score again.
Joao Cancelo veered into the Bournemouth box and linked up with Jack Grealish before forcing a mistake out of Jefferson Lerma, who scored an own goal and rounded off the 4-0 win for the hosts. The result took Manchester City to the top of the Premier League table, and The Hard Tackle runs the rule over Pep Guardiola’s men.
FULL-TIME | A super start at the Etihad! ?
? 4-0 ? #ManCity pic.twitter.com/xljtMopvU4
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 13, 2022
Ederson Moraes: 6/10
Ederson barely had anything to do, with Bournemouth hardly foraying into the opposition half. The Brazilian goalkeeper made one save, a regulation stop which helped him keep a clean sheet for the second successive game.
Kyle Walker: 7/10
Walker was rock-solid in his inverted full-back role and even played a role in the build-up to the opener. The English international found Ilkay Gundogan before the German international linked up with Erling Haaland. Walker was comfortable otherwise, retaining a 94 per cent passing rate.
Ruben Dias: 6/10
Dias was comfortable throughout the afternoon, with Bournemouth failing to force him into action on Saturday. The Portuguese international completed 90 per cent of his attempted passes while winning a couple of duels before going off for John Stones.
Nathan Ake: 6/10
Ake helped Manchester City dominate the proceedings, completing all but one of his attempted passes while providing a presence in the opposition box during set-piece situations. The Dutchman also made two blocks, helping his team keep a clean sheet.
Joao Cancelo: 7/10
Cancelo did not get involved heavily in the final third, but he played a role in one of the goals as he forced a mistake out of Jefferson Lerma, who scored a late own goal. But the Portuguese defender lost possession a few times, which was the only pitfall in his performance.
Kevin De Bruyne: 9/10
20 – Kevin De Bruyne has both scored and assisted for the 20th time in a Premier League game, only Mohamed Salah (24) and Son Heung-Min (21) have done so on more occasions since the Belgian's Man City debut in September 2015. Maestro. pic.twitter.com/X7k4VExdB2
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 13, 2022
De Bruyne ran the show for Manchester City this weekend, with Bournemouth having no clue about negating his influence. The Belgian international was here, there, and everywhere while misplacing only one pass all game. De Bruyne also played a game-high four key passes while providing the assist for Phil Foden. And the cherry on top was his delectable finish for the second Manchester City goal.
Rodri: 7/10
Rodri ensured Manchester City remained on top throughout the game, circulating possession effortlessly while misplacing only five passes. With Bournemouth barely threatening on Saturday, the Spanish international focused on running rings around the visitors.
Ilkay Gundogan: 8/10
Gundogan was sensational on Saturday as he set the ball rolling for Manchester City. The German international started the move before finishing it off after Erling Haaland sliced the Bournemouth defence open with brilliant hold-up play. He also played three key passes before going off after the hour mark.
5️⃣0️⃣ City goals for @IlkayGuendogan! ✨#ManCity pic.twitter.com/7nwf7hFXOn
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 13, 2022
Riyad Mahrez: 7/10
Mahrez will consider himself unfortunate not to have found the back of the net on Saturday. The Algerian playmaker ran the show for Manchester City along with De Bruyne and played a couple of key passes. But while Mahrez deserved an assist from the game, he went back home empty handed.
Erling Haaland: 7/10
Haaland continued his strong start to life as a Manchester City player, even though he did not find the back of the net. The Norwegian striker managed just eight touches and completed only two passes. But one of those actions resulted in the assist for Gundogan’s goal, where he brilliantly held off three Bournemouth defenders.
Erling Haaland completed just two passes against Bournemouth.
One was from kick off and the other was an assist for Ilkay Gundogan. ? pic.twitter.com/BgwsAVpW6j
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 13, 2022
Phil Foden: 8/10
Foden was somewhat slow off the blocks, and he remained confined to the left flank early in the game. But the English international ran riot once he found his feet, playing two key passes and setting De Bruyne up for Manchester City’s second strike. Foden then scored one himself and will thank Mark Travers for the goal he netted.
SUBSTITUTES
Jack Grealish: 7/10
Grealish was a bundle of energy after replacing Foden at half-time. The English international played two key passes while losing possession just four times but never came into a position to score. All in all, it was a decent performance by the former Aston Villa captain.
John Stones: 6/10
Stones barely had anything to do after replacing Dias while completing all his 19 attempted passes. That was a good game to get his rhythm back.
Bernardo Silva: 6/10
Silva came on for Gundogan with the game’s final quarter left and the Portuguese star circulated possession effortlessly as Manchester City ran rings around Bournemouth.
Julian Alvarez: N/A
Alvarez made his competitive home debut for Manchester City after replacing Erling Haaland but barely saw the ball in the game’s final fifteen minutes.
Rico Lewis: N/A
Lewis replaced Walker late on to make his Manchester City debut and helped see the game out.
