Man City 4-0 Bournemouth: No Erling Haaland goal but Kevin de Bruyne stars

Man City 4-0 Bournemouth: No Erling Haaland goal but Kevin de Bruyne stars
_126307600_kevindebruyneputsmanchestercity2-0ahead.jpgDe Bruyne scored 15 goals and made eight assists from 30 Premier League appearances last season - he has one goal and two assists from his first two games of this campaign

Erling Haaland could not mark his home debut for Manchester City with another goal, but it made no difference for Pep Guardiola's side who still swept Bournemouth aside with ease.

Haaland, who scored twice on his Premier League bow at West Ham last weekend, took 18 minutes to take his first touch but used it to set up Ilkay Gundogan for City's opener.

City had been dominating the game since the start, and it did not take long for more goals to follow.

The impressive Kevin de Bruyne made it 2-0 with a dazzling solo strike, running to the corner of the area before bending the ball into the bottom corner with the outside of his boot.

And Phil Foden made sure of the points before half-time, running on to a De Bruyne pass and letting fly with a shot that Cherries keeper Mark Travers got his body behind but could not keep out.

Bournemouth spent most of their time defending in a compact 5-4-1 formation, and only forced Ederson into action once, through a Ben Pearson snap-shot from the edge of the area.

They never looked remotely capable of staging a comeback in the second half, which had turned into a stroll in the Manchester sunshine for the home side long before Jefferson Lerma's own goal made it 4-0.

Lerma was trying to stop Joao Cancelo's low cross from reaching substitute Bernardo Silva, but only succeeded in sending the ball spinning past Travers to complete an afternoon to forget for his team.

No Haaland goal - but no problems for City

Man City 4-0 Bournemouth: Guardiola says players will learn to play with Haaland

It already seems somewhat surprising to see City score four times without Haaland getting any of them, but this victory was a reminder of the goal threat that runs right through this team, not just from their new striker.

Bournemouth were under threat from the first minute, when Nathan Ake headed wide from a corner, with Rodri nodding over from the same source soon afterwards.

Riyad Mahrez and Foden also forced saves from Travers in the opening 10 minutes, although Haaland may feel Foden should have squared the ball to find him unmarked in front of goal instead of shooting.

If Haaland was getting frustrated at his lack of involvement, he did not let it show - instead using his power to hold off his marker and set up Gundogan for a cool finish that sent City on their way.

De Bruyne's brilliance created their second and third goals, but Haaland's chances of getting on the scoresheet remained limited.

After the Norwegian's heavy touch from a Ruben Dias pass into the area - when Travers collected the ball before Haaland could control it - the Cherries keeper tipped over his lob when he did get a shot away.

Haaland's last chance came and went when he screwed wide from a Jack Grealish pull-back with 20 minutes to go, and he was replaced by Julian Alvarez moments later.

The former Borussia Dortmund man had only eight touches in all - the fewest of any player who started the game - but was still given a standing ovation from the home fans. On this evidence, City remain hard to stop even when he is not at his very best.

Bournemouth happy with damage limitation

Man City 4-0 Bournemouth: Parker says side came up against world class opponents

Bournemouth had began the season in impressive style themselves, with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, but they never came close to repeating that result here.

Scott Parker's side struggled to get out of their own half with the score at 0-0 and paid the price for trying to get further up the pitch after falling behind.

They only succeeded in leaving City space to break into for the first time, and De Bruyne punished them with his brilliant finish after running to the edge of the Cherries area without being challenged.

When Bournemouth did finally get the ball up to Kieffer Moore at the other end, he created a shooting opportunity for Ben Pearson, but any sights of goal were few and far between for the visitors.

Damage limitation seemed a more sensible approach for Parker's side than chasing a way back into the game - especially given the soaring temperatures at Etihad Stadium, and the quality of the opposition.

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Player of the match

De BruyneKevin De Bruyne

AFC Bournemouth

Squad number21Player nameMoore

Squad number10Player nameChristie

Squad number16Player nameTavernier

Squad number1Player nameTravers

Squad number22Player namePearson

Squad number5Player nameKelly

Squad number17Player nameStacey

Squad number8Player nameLerma

Squad number4Player nameL Cook

Squad number15Player nameA Smith

Squad number6Player nameMepham

Squad number19Player nameStanislas

Squad number29Player nameBilling

Squad number25Player nameSenesi

Squad number18Player nameLowe

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-3-3

31Ederson

2Walker3Rúben Dias6Aké7Cancelo

17De Bruyne16Rodri8Gündogan

26Mahrez9Haaland47Foden

31Ederson2WalkerSubstituted forLewisat 82'minutes3Rúben DiasSubstituted forStonesat 64'minutes6Aké7Cancelo17De Bruyne16Rodri8GündoganSubstituted forBernardo Silvaat 65'minutes26Mahrez9HaalandSubstituted forÁlvarezat 74'minutes47FodenSubstituted forGrealishat 45'minutes

Substitutes

5Stones10Grealish18Ortega19Álvarez20Bernardo Silva48Delap79Mbete82Lewis97Wilson-Esbrand

Bournemouth

Formation 3-4-2-1

1Travers

6Mepham8Lerma5Kelly

15A Smith4L Cook22Pearson17Stacey

16Tavernier10Christie

21Moore

1Travers6MephamBooked at 56mins8Lerma5Kelly15A SmithBooked at 90mins4L CookSubstituted forBillingat 64'minutes22Pearson17StaceyBooked at 5mins16TavernierSubstituted forSenesiat 80'minutes10ChristieSubstituted forStanislasat 63'minutes21MooreSubstituted forLoweat 90'minutes

Substitutes

11Marcondes13Murara Neto18Lowe19Stanislas20Dembélé23Hill25Senesi29Billing32Anthony

Live Text

Match ends, Manchester City 4, Bournemouth 0.

Second Half ends, Manchester City 4, Bournemouth 0.

Adam Smith (Bournemouth) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

João Cancelo (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Foul by Adam Smith (Bournemouth).

Substitution, Bournemouth. Jamal Lowe replaces Kieffer Moore because of an injury.

Foul by Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).

Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).

Philip Billing (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Chris Mepham.

Substitution, Manchester City. Rico Lewis replaces Kyle Walker.

Attempt missed. Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Philip Billing.

Foul by Julián Álvarez (Manchester City).

Jefferson Lerma (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution, Bournemouth. Marcos Senesi replaces Marcus Tavernier.

Own Goal by Jefferson Lerma, Bournemouth. Manchester City 4, Bournemouth 0.

Jack Grealish (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Adam Smith (Bournemouth).

Substitution, Manchester City. Julián Álvarez replaces Erling Haaland.

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