Read Dominic Fifield’s match report from Bournemouth:
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Sergio Agüero speaks. It is not groundbreaking but nevertheless. “I’m happy because on this pitch it is so hard, so we are happy for the three points,” he says. “That [second] goal was very important because then we are more relaxed. Always when David receives the ball, I follow him because sometimes the pitch is no good and I know maybe the ball is moving in the grass and then I score.”
A gentle reminder that Agüero’s double takes his tally for Manchester City to 235, and a grand total of 400 goals for club and country. “It’s pretty stunning how well Agüero has worked with a series of different managers. Most of the players you would think of as ‘best ever’ really only played with one or two managers, certainly the forwards,” argues Joe Harvey, via email. “Agüero hasn’t perfectly adapted to what Pep wants, but Agüero has to be the first player on a very short list whom Pep has had to compromise his ideals to play, no?”
Full-time: Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester City
The usual suspects, Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling, come up with the goods on the south coast, while David Silva was absolutely majestic, utterly irresistible on his 400th appearance in a Manchester City shirt. Bournemouth never gave up but Harry Wilson’s delicious free-kick will be just a foot-note.
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90+3 min: “Sergio Agüero is the definition of fox in the box: hungry, eager and lethal from the 18-yard box,” emails Alex from Dunbartonshire. “The best the Premier League has seen?” He certainly has to be up there. A divine striker.
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90 min: There will be four added minutes, and João Cancelo is on for the closing stages. The Portuguese defender replaces Kyle Walker, who made an erratic start but has been reasonably solid at full-back. Job done for Pep Guardiola and co.
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89 min: Mahrez dances his way to the edge of the Bournemouth area but he is crowded out before Rodri takes over. The hosts clear their lines and, as they break, Otamendi clatters Joshua King, who has been brilliant in circumstances. The Manchester City defender earns a booking for his efforts.
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87 min: King combines with Solanke, with the latter testing Ederson from the angle. It is low and hard but straight down the goalkeeper’s throat. No problem for the Brazil stopper. Meanwhile, Guardiola is preparing to throw on João Cancelo. The Portuguese could be given his Manchester City debut.
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85 min: Manchester City are stroking the ball about for fun. Rodri has done the basics beautifully since coming on to keep the midfield ticking over. City are cruising to victory.
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80 min: We need to talk about Sergio Agüero. According to Opta, the striker has now scored 400 goals for club and country combined, with 235 of those coming for Manchester City. The man is utterly relentless. Meanwhile, down besides the tunnel Charlie Daniels is on crutches. The injury the 32-year-old defender sustained in the first half is reportedly a repeat of the kneecap injury that meant he missed the tail end of last season. Wishing Daniels a full and swift recovery.
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79 min: Bernardo Silva is withdrawn. Mahrez on.
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76 min: Guardiola is readying Riyad Mahrez, who scored the winner in this fixture last season, when Bournemouth had no shots, no corners and 17.9% possession.
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75 min: Joshua King does brilliantly to buy a throw-in out of Laporte, one of three City defenders in close company. The Bournemouth forward has no intention of giving up the ghost, charging in by the corner flag to steal possession and then ensure they gain an advantage out of the situation. The hosts fail to do much with it, though, as City stream forward through Sterling down the other end. Normal service is resumed.
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72 min: Billing gingerly trudges off holding his face. Something is not right – but the Bournemouth midfielder will soldier on. Down on the touchline, Eddie Howe is desperately trying to gee up his players. The last thing he wants is for this to turn into a rout; City soared to 5-0 win at West Ham on the opening day.
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70 min: Philip Billing is down after taking a whack from Bernardo Silva. The Bournemouth midfielder requires a dab of treatment. It all seemed pretty innocuous. A reminder Bournemouth have already used all three substitutes, with Harry Wilson replacing Charlie Daniels towards the end of the first half, and Jordon Ibe and Dom Solanke joining the party a few seconds ago.
68 min: Ibe replaces Adam Smith, Solanke for Callum Wilson.
66 min: Now City are cruising and Eddie Howe is desperately trying to find a remedy. Jordon Ibe and Dom Solanke are being readied.
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65 min: Agüero really is a class act, a goal machine and a complete striker. One of the best of the Premier League era, surely?
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GOAL! Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester City (Agüero, 64)
Sergio Agüero strikes – again. David Silva furrows into the box and Agüero bustles his way through to give the Spaniard a helping hand. As the ball runs loose, the striker hammers in his second of the afternoon. That penalty appeal is already a distant memory.
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61 min: No penalty, says VAR. Lerma, who was cautioned by Marriner moments earlier, did appear to impinge Silva in the box. Raheem Sterling flew to the byline, bamboozled Adam Smith and cut the ball back for Silva before the Spaniard went to ground. Lerma seemed to stand on Silva’s right foot – but he gets away with it. Kevin Friend is this afternoon’s VAR back at Stockley Park.
60 min: Pep Guardiola is adamant Manchester City should have a penalty. David Silva goes to ground but Andre Marriner shakes his head. He’s having none of it. Jefferson Lerma appeared to trod on Silva’s right foot. VAR is taking a look ...
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59 min: Rodri’s first touch is a good one, nicking the ball away on halfway before City stream forward down the right. Bernardo Silva cuts inside but the sting is taken out of his shot from the edge of the box, with Aké, who has been superb, standing firm.
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57 min: Pep Guardiola changes it up: İlkay Gündogan is withdrawn and replaced by Rodri, a £63m summer signing.
55 min: Another booking for Jefferson Lerma, who flies in on Kevin De Bruyne after the Manchester City midfielder skated away from Fraser. Lerma, the Colombia midfielder and club-record signing, earned 13 yellow cards last season.
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53 min: De Bruyne dances his way into the box after good work by Agüero but the former steers his shot wide of the Bournemouth goal. A let-off for the hosts, who moments earlier perhaps had an argument for a penalty. Laporte clipped Callum Wilson, who raced through on Ederson’s goal. That challenge failed to unseat Wilson but the striker was unsteadied by it, with Ederson rushing out to block the forward’s shot. As for the De Bruyne chance, Manchester City’s supporters thought it was in. It was a wonderful break.
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50 min: Zinchenko floats a dangerous ball into the box, it drops nicely for Raheem Sterling but the Bournemouth skipper Steve Cook throws his body on the line to prevent the City forward from doubling his tally for the afternoon. It was more joy for Zinchenko down the City left, with a high ball causing havoc at the back post but there was Cook to intervene. Magnificent defending.
49 min: David Silva slips in Sterling ... but Chris Mepham superbly ushers the England forward out and away from danger. Ramsdale applauds the work of the Wales defender. There is an air of confidence about Bournemouth.
47 min: The lively Harry Wilson nips the ball away from Zinchenko down the right, he drives forward and then as the winger releases Adam Smith, Sterling fells the Liverpool loanee. Andre Marriner waved advantage but Wilson was left in a heap. The home fans are incensed but the referee will argue Bournemouth failed to make the most of the advantage he awarded them.
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46 min: Mepham clips Laporte, who is clutching his knee but the Manchester City man is up and moving. Charlie Daniels has reportedly gone to hospital with a suspected dislocated kneecap. Best wishes to the Bournemouth defender.
46 min: City get the second half started. No changes at the interval.
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A couple of half-time stats to get stuck into: Raheem Sterling has scored 11 goals in all competitions v Bournemouth, more than he has against any other opponent in his career. And, how about this gem, courtesy of Opta: since the start of last season, Harry Wilson has scored more goals from outside the box than any other player in the top four tiers of English football (11 in all competitions).
Half-time: Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City
Just as it seemed Manchester City were motoring away from Bournemouth, Harry Wilson stepped up to curl a delicious free-kick beyond Ederson to halve the half-time deficit. City were cruising after goals by Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling but Wilson, a substitute after a serious-looking injury to Charlie Daniels, stepped up to bend a wonderful strike home in first-half stoppage-time. Bournemouth flew out of the blocks but soon came crashing back down to earth, with Agüero taking the sting out of their positive start. Then Sterling raced on to a gorgeous David Silva pass to double City’s lead. But it was Wilson that had the final say of the first half, teeing things up nicely for the next 45 minutes.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City (H Wilson, 45+2)
An absolute peach. A postage-stamp free-kick. A beautiful left-footed strike by Harry Wilson, who bends the ball into the top corner beyond Ederson. Another stunning set-piece to add to the Wales winger’s burgeoning showreel.
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45+2 min: Laporte fouls Wilson 20 yards from goal. The Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson, who scored from distance last weekend and has scored spectacular free-kicks for fun, fancies it ...
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45 min: There will be at least six minutes added time, the majority of which has been added on because of that injury to Charlie Daniels. The defender was carried off on a stretcher after going to ground awkwardly. This was only his second start since March after a knee injury kept him out of the run-in last season.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-2 Manchester City (Sterling, 43)
In the blink of an eye, Raheem Sterling doubles City’s advantage. Laporte switches play, picking out Bernardo Silva, who slips in David Silva, who then plays a wonderfully weighted ball into the box for Sterling, who speeds beyond Adam Smith and pokes the ball home. That’s Sterling’s 11th goal against Bournemouth and his eighth for the season. A marvellous City move. Pep Guardiola’s side put five past West Ham on the opening weekend and, in this mood, you wouldn’t bet against them running riot here either.
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39 min: Adam Smith misses a sitter for Bournemouth! Manchester City make a total hash of a simple ball into the box, after a mix-up between Otamendi and Ederson gifts Bournemouth a wonderful opening. Harry Wilson dinked the ball into the box, Otamendi chested it straight to Smith but, luckily for City, Ederson manages to divert the defender’s effort over.
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37 min: Steve Cook launches a long throw into the area and it lands right in the heart of the Manchester City 18-yard box. There is Nathan Aké to meet it but the Dutchman cannot stab the ball goalwards. It was certainly a half chance.
35 min: Daniels is carried off on a stretcher, with both home and away supporters applauding as he is taken down the tunnel. It didn’t look good, with the defender clutching his knee. Another headache for Eddie Howe, too, who is already without seven first-team players owing to injuries, including David Brooks. Harry Wilson, the Liverpool loanee, is on for his home debut.
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33 min: A stretcher is needed for Daniels – it does not look good for the left-back. Harry Wilson will be coming on for Bournemouth.
31 min: Charlie Daniels looks very distressed. Billing spreads the ball wide and Daniels attempts to gallop on to his pass. But as he does, Daniels appears to go to ground awkwardly. He punches the ground in agony but the Bournemouth physio Steve Hard is on to try and suss out the situation. Let’s hope it’s nothing too serious for a player who has only recently returned from a knee injury.
30 min: Even though Kevin De Bruyne scuffed his shot in the buildup to Agüero opening the scoring, his contribution technically goes down as an assist. Which means the Belgium midfielder has reached 50 assists in the Premier League, achieving this milestone in the fewest appearances of any player in the competition’s history (123 games). Not bad going, eh?
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27 min: Eddie Howe is frantically trying to gee up his players to reinstate that belief. Adam Smith jets down the right flank and darts inside, slipping the ball in for Wilson but the striker gets himself in a tangle and the sniff of the City goal is gone. Guardiola’s side hop straight up the other end and Bournemouth do well to crowd out Agüero, with Aké preventing danger from escalating.
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26 min: Agüero presses Ramsdale and the Bournemouth goalkeeper skews a clearance into the mains stand. Bournemouth’s confidence looks a little shot, as City begin to glide through the gears, upping the ante on a young defence.
23 min: Laporte plays a wondrous cross-field ball which Bernardo Silva picks up with ease. The Portuguese proceeds to skirt beyond Charlie Daniels before hooking the ball into the near post, where Bournemouth clear their lines. It is very much one-way traffic now after an encouraging start by the hosts.
19 min: Ramsdale saves from David Silva! Zinchenko’s whipped ball from the left is only half-cleared by Charlie Daniels and the Spaniard picks up the seconds, but his relatively tame volley is kept out by the Bournemouth goalkeeper.
18 min: A deflating goal for Bournemouth to concede, with Eddie Howe’s side punished for switching off in defence. Bournemouth began with a piercing tempo, with Wilson, King, Fraser and Aké enjoying forays forward but City have gradually assumed control of this match. They’re knocking the ball about for fun, with the hosts powerless to do anything other than soak up possession.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Manchester City (Agüero, 15)
Zinchenko cuts the ball back for Kevin de Bruyne, who fluffs his lines inside the box but there is Sergio Agüero to profit and sweep home. Agüero simply passes the ball into the back of the net, his third league goal of the season. It was a move that was kickstarted by the peerless David Silva on his 400th City appearance, with the Spaniard freeing the overlapping Zinchenko.
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13 min: And now Ederson charges into a reckless challenge! Fraser floats a neat ball into the channel for Wilson, who gallops on to it down the left flank. Ederson gets it all wrong and wipes the striker out a treat. The Manchester City goalkeeper earns a booking for his efforts. From the resulting free-kick, Bournemouth’s Philip Billing collides with Ederson, with the City stopper a little fortunate the midfielder could not glance an effort on target.
10 min: Kyle Walker was fortunate to avoid a booking after a lunging challenge on Nathan Aké a few moments ago but this time Andre Marriner is forced into pulling a yellow card out of his pocket. Walker marauds forward with the ball at his feet but ends up overrunning it and Aké snuffs it out. As he does, Walker follows through and clatters through the Bournemouth defender. Walker has been heavily involved here and, in reality, has committed two bookable offences. A spicy start on the south coast.
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9 min: Callum Wilson fails to retain possession on halfway and City pick the hosts off, with De Bruyne taking hold. He attempts to dink a ball over the top of the Bournemouth defence but it’s wayward and Ramsdale hoovers things up.
6 min: Bernardo Silva sends a shot whistling past a post! Chris Mepham is half asleep as Sterling drives in behind his man and the winger cuts the ball back for the Portuguese, who wraps his foot around it first time – but it drops just wide of Aaron Ramsdale’s left post. City are beginning to stretch their legs.
4 min: Kyle Walker should be booked for late lunge on Nathan Aké. The Dutchman drives out of defence with De Bruyne for company before Walker goes to ground and sweeps the Bournemouth man off his feet. It was rash and Bournemouth earn a free-kick 45 yards or so, which Charlie Daniels swings in to little avail.
3 min: Wilson is penalised for tripping Zinchenko and Manchester City have time to compose themselves and get going. Zinchenko requires a dab of treatment after an earlier collision with Adam Smith led to a cut on his face.
1 min: Joshua King robs Kevin de Bruyne 25 yards out and drives towards goal – and gets a shot away. Ederson gathers comfortably but that’s already more than Bournemouth mustered the last time these sides met. A positive start by Eddie Howe’s men, operating in a 5-4-1. Aké hops into midfield when needed.
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Peeeeeeeeeeep!
Ryan Fraser gets Bournemouth under way on the south coast.
The teams trudge out on to the turf. Steve Cook, the Bournemouth captain, together with his sons Frey and Eden, mascots for the day, leads his team through the pre-match handshakes. Sweet Caroline is blaring out over the speakers. Here we go, then!
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Ten minutes until kick-off in Dorset. Any pre-match thoughts or feelings? “As a Liverpool fan I was hoping that Harry Wilson would start,” emails Mike MacKenzie. “Do you think he has a path to first team on Liverpool given ages of front three? He’s 22 now whereas Ben Woodburn is turns 20 in October.” Jürgen Klopp is a big fan but, perhaps a little like Danny Ings, maybe there will come a time where all parties decide that it might be best for him to play regular football away from Anfield. That there is no option for Bournemouth to make the loan move permanent is perhaps another indicator of the love for him on Merseyside – but there is no doubting the difficulty of displacing Klopp’s tormenting trio.
Pep Guardiola talks. “Away it is always tough, especially in the beginning of the season when people are still not settled,” he says. “Here it is always tough, the quality of the opponent, a typical English football stadium and they are so fast up front with [Ryan] Fraser, [Joshua] King and [Callum] Wilson.” On David Silva, who is making his 400th appearance in a Manchester City shirt, Guardiola adds: “He has to be super proud, and I’m sure he is.” As for the 27C heat, Howe says the pitch will be sticky but is confident Bournemouth are fit enough to cope.
It is a scorching day on the south coast, where Raheem Sterling is looking to keep up a fine goalscoring run. The England international has found the net four games in a row and will be licking his lips at facing Steve Cook and Chris Mepham, given that the forward has scored eight goals (and two assists) in seven games against Bournemouth. “Raheem Sterling has done well against us in recent seasons, he’s an outstanding talent,” says Eddie Howe, the Bournemouth manager. “You look through their team and they’ve got so much quality so we’ll have plenty of players to keep quiet. A big thing for us will be the crowd. The players bounce off the crowd and we’re really hopeful of a good atmosphere to help us.”
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Pep Guardiola has been having a pre-match chinwag with Sandbanks’ Harry Redknapp, a regular in the stands at his former club. The Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser has also been doing some talking before the main event. “We need to be on top of our game today,” says the flying Scotsman. “We need to defend well but also impose ourselves on the game and play our football. It will be a difficult game but one we are relishing.”
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Team news news: Pep Guardiola gives Fernandinho a breather, with İlkay Gündogan replacing the Brazilian in that holding midfield role, while Rodri is also on the bench. David Silva captains City on his 400th appearance for the club. In terms of Bournemouth, it is a big afternoon for Nathan Aké, who has been promoted from defence into midfield, with the Dutchman tasked with hoovering up in a Fernandinho-type role. Harry Wilson, who scored on his debut at Aston Villa last weekend, drops to the bench as Chris Mepham returns. Bournemouth’s club captain, Simon Francis, says: “We can go out there with a fearlessness and attack them, and hopefully get the result we want because it is the one team lingering there that we still haven’t taken any points off of.”
The teams!
Bournemouth (4-1-4-1): Ramsdale; Smith, Mepham, Cook, Daniels; Aké; King, Lerma, Billing, Fraser; C Wilson
Subs: Boruc, Simpson, Rico, Surman, H Wilson, Ibe, Solanke
Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Otamendi, Zinchenko; Gündogan; B Silva, De Bruyne, D Silva, Sterling; Agüero
Subs: Bravo, Angeliño, Rodri, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden
Referee: Andre Marriner
Preamble
On the receiving end of 5-1 defeat in their first meeting before three 4-0 humblings, something had to change and, when Bournemouth shut up shop last season, it almost garnered their first points against a peerless Manchester City. Eddie Howe and his team took plenty of flak – no shots, no corners and 17.9% possession fuelled plenty of conversation – but the reality is Bournemouth almost eked out a precious and unprecedented point against the champions. Still, their timeline against City reads eight matches and eight defeats, and Guardiola’s side lead by an aggregate score of 25-3. “We have to use that record to inspire us in the game,” Howe said. “We try and embrace these challenges and not fearfully. We lost 3-1 away and the game here was very tight but we felt we were competitive without showing our best attributes. I’d like to think we’re getting closer but results will dictate that.”
City’s VAR-induced draw against Tottenham last time out ended a run of 15 successive top-flight victories dating back to January and it is difficult to envisage them failing to heed victory on the south coast. David Silva is set to make his 400th appearance in a City shirt, while John Stones is missing for the visitors. “He is one of the most incredible intelligent players in the small spaces,” Guardiola said of Silva. “He is one of the best I’ve ever known. It’s not just the quality, he’s a huge competitor in the training matches. As for Bournemouth, who come into the game on the back of victory at Aston Villa, Howe has a raft of long-term absentees, namely David Brooks, who joined City as a seven-year-old boy, but Joshua King and Callum Wilson are capable of causing havoc.
Kick-off: 2pm (BST)
