City leapfrog Bournemouth into second place

Manchester City 3 - 1 Bournemouth

Erling Haaland returned to form with two goals as Manchester City got back to winning ways in the Premier League, climbing above Bournemouth into second place.

Author | Macca

Stadium | Etihad Stadium

Pep Guardiola’s side had seen a 10-match unbeaten run ended by Aston Villa the previous weekend, a rare occasion when Haaland failed to score. But the Norwegian striker was back to his ruthless best, his double proving decisive against an in-form Bournemouth as City closed the gap to leaders Arsenal to six points.

The visitors thought they had made the perfect start when Eli Junior Kroupi found the net inside the first minute, only for the teenager’s effort to be ruled out for offside as he looked to extend his fine scoring run.

City settled after that early scare and took the lead in the 17th minute. Rayan Cherki’s clever header from halfway released Haaland, who raced clear and finished with trademark composure.

Bournemouth hit back eight minutes later when Tyler Adams pounced on Gianluigi Donnarumma’s weak punch to smash home from close range. The City goalkeeper protested he had been impeded by David Brooks, but the goal stood and Donnarumma was booked for dissent. It was Adams’ first goal in English football after previous spells with Leeds and Bournemouth.

City, though, always had Haaland to rely on. 

The striker combined again with Cherki before rounding Djordje Petrovic and calmly slotting in his 13th league goal of the campaign, taking his tally to 26 in all competitions for club and country.

Haaland was denied a first-half hat-trick by a fine save from Petrovic and nodded over soon after the restart. Kroupi came close to levelling with a fierce first-time strike, but Donnarumma kept him out. Moments later, Nico O’Reilly surged forward at the other end and fired a precise low shot into the corner to seal an impressive victory for Guardiola’s side.

Best fan reaction

Pete: A much-improved performance against a stronger opponent, with sharper passing and more purposeful attacking. Rayan Cherki is growing in confidence and showing real creativity, while Matheus Nunes has made clear progress at right-back. They need to keep building their understanding and will continue to gel as the challenges get tougher.

Anthony: City will beat any side that comes to play rather than sit deep. My only complaint is the poor set-piece delivery. They really need a specialist set-piece coach.

Charlotte: I thought that first-half performance was the best I have seen from City in about 18 months.

Jamie: There is little left to say about Erling Haaland that has not already been said. He makes me proud to be a City fan and we should appreciate everything he does for the club. Cherki looks an absolute bargain and is so unselfish. He will be a huge asset. Apart from the corner incident, Gianluigi Donnarumma was outstanding in goal. Plenty of positives, but full credit to Bournemouth, who played without fear at the Etihad and could easily have had more in the first half. Bring on Liverpool.