Manchester City vs Bournemouth: Superb Leroy Sane dispels first-half complacency to see leaders win again
Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth: A lacklustre first-half saw Callum Wilson deservedly peg Pep Guardiola's side back, only for the reigning champions to come flying out the blocks after the break
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Your support makes all the difference.It is a sign of the times at Manchester City that a largely comfortable 3-1 victory at the Etihad can be classified as 'winning the hard way', but there was a point where this victory against Eddie Howe's talented and ambitious Bournemouth looked in doubt.
Callum Wilson's leveller on the cusp of half-time, cancelling out Bernardo Silva's 16th-minute strike, saw the visitors capitalise on a complacent, below-par City, going through the motions rather than killing their opponents off.
Bournemouth deserved to be level at that point yet City re-emerged as if they had learned a valuable lesson and second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan, as well as an excellent display from Leroy Sané, secured all three points.
The pretenders to City's throne may look at this as evidence that Pep Guardiola's side may still suffer the odd surprise result here and there, that they could still slip up and allow a title challenge deep into the season.
The defending champions will point to the fact they still won and will not allow such complacency to creep in again.
Perhaps City's hint of first-half over-confidence came from their manager. Guardiola felt able to rotate, making five changes from Tuesday's hard-fought draw in Lyon, despite naming stronger line-ups against weaker sides than Bournemouth at the Etihad this season.
Danilo made his first league appearance of the campaign at right-back, Oleksander Zinchenko made his second on opposite flank, though the headline was top scorer Sergio Aguero's omission from the matchday squad.
A "muscular disturbance" was behind Aguero's absence, though given Sterling and Leroy Sané's form of late, he could perhaps afford a rest. Man-of-the-match Sané caused Bournemouth problems throughout, darting in behind the defensive line to latch onto long, searching passes. The first goal came in exactly that fashion.
Asmir Begovic made the first of two costly errors when he beat Sané to Zinchenko's ball over the top but failed to hold onto it. The rebound fell into the path of Bernardo, who struck first-time into the unguarded Bournemouth net while Begovic was stranded.
It was City's twelfth goal to come before the 20th-minute mark in the Premier League this season. Guardiola's side have become used to starting quick, scoring early and effectively putting the contest to bed with a display of comfortable, composed domination. Today would not follow that particular script.
Bournemouth seemed to sense the complacency creeping into City's play as a low-key first half dragged on. Guardiola complained of a slack final 20 minutes and in the closing stages, the visitors went close.
Wilson forced Ederson into action with a faint touch on Josh King's cross, then King himself saw a goal-bound shot blocked yards away from the line by Nicolas Otamendi.
A minute before the break, Bournemouth would find their equaliser. It was a touch cruder than the intricate, counter-attacking Howe's side had adopted up to that point, though City were powerless to prevent Simon Francis' pinpoint cross and Wilson's well-placed header.
It was only the second open play goal Guardiola's side have conceded this season. It was also a wake-up call, but one City heeded. When Guardiola's side re-emerged, the intensity returned and after a few minutes, so did their lead.
Sterling had already come close to re-establishing City's advantage with a long, mazy dribble through Bournemouth's lines but saw his deflected attempt hit the post. Three minutes later, he tapped in at close range, capitalising on Begovic's failure to collect Danilo's shot from range.
City took hold once again and, crucially, did not allow Bournemouth to build momentum this time. Save a handful of set-pieces and spells of final-third possessions, the visitors were largely kept at arm's length before Gundogan's goal finished them off.
Sané registered a deserved assist, even though the winger's initial corner was cleared by the first man. Sané recovered the ball, exchanged a one-two with substitute David Silva, then crossed for Gundogan to convert at close range.
The fears of dropping points at home for the first time this season, whispered on the Etihad's concourses at half time, had now eased but Guardiola will not let his players forget those 20 first-half minutes when City were, very briefly, not perfect.
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