It is not a stretch to say Manchester City barely moved out of second gear and were still a class above Bournemouth. This was a record-extending 17th consecutive Premier League win and with Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Watford to complete their festive programme, by 2 January the run may be 20.
This would beat the 19 on the spin Guardiola recorded with Bayern Munich and despite sport’s unpredictability you do start to wonder how City will be stopped
When Sergio Agüero headed Bernardo Silva’s cross home on 79 minutes for his second this made it 100 City goals in the competition for the calendar year and had the home faithful singing “We’ve got Guardiola”, an apt tribute to a manager whose magic is imbued throughout this side.
The hunt to extend the victorious sequence began with an XI showing two changes as Vincent Kompany and David Silva came in for Eliaquim Mangala and Ilkay Gündogan. Changes to Bournemouth numbered Callum Wilson, Dan Gosling, Junior Stanislas, Steve Cook and Jack Simpson, the latter making his Premier League debut.
Almost immediately, City found their rhythm. Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker combined before the former swept in a ball that required Cook to stoop and head away. After 11 minutes the Cherries were disrupted when Stanislas appeared to suffer a leg injury and was replaced by Marc Pugh.
So supreme have City been that the expectation is of a near-domination of ball and a medley of chances. Yet while the first part proved true, the second did not occur for a while due to a surprising lack of quality in the final pass.
In a flash, though, this changed: Nicolás Otamendi strode upfield, flipped the ball beyond Bournemouth, and in a single movement Agüero controlled and hit a shot over the advancing Asmir Begovic – it was too high but a sure sign City were livening.
Next, Leroy Sané claimed a corner along the left. Silva delivered and Fernandinho headed over. Later, came a collector’s item: a long distance shot from a City player – Otamendi striking the ball truly and causing Begovic to fling himself to his right.
Now, finally, City scored. Against this Guardiola unit the last thing needed is an unforced error. Yet this is what occurred when Begovic fluffed a regulation clearance. Fernandinho beat a dawdling Jordon Ibe to this and clipped possession to Silva. Back came the ball and the Brazilian’s superb left-foot cross found Agüero, who half-kneeled to head past the hapless goalkeeper. It was Agüero’s 14th goal in 20 outings and the 100th of a glittering City career at this venue.
For the rest of the opening half City coasted. But at the break Guardiola’s instruction to his players may have been terse: be more ruthless. If a listless start did not augur well then what happened on 52 minutes reversed the sense. This was a classic Guardiola move as Silva used De Bruyne’s run as a decoy, rolling the ball instead to Agüero. The No10’s instant sand-wedge of a chip found Sterling and he smashed in for his 16th of a standout campaign.
The contest flatlined for a time from here. Guardiola took off Sané and De Bruyne for Bernardo Silva and Gündogan and now City doubled the scoreline. First came Agüero’s header, then came Danilo’s debut goal, the substitute hammering home from Sterling’s pass. It all seems so simple for this Guardiola team.
