City move second with entertaining Bournemouth win | OneFootball

City went second in the Premier League with a pulsating 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland’s expertly taken brace and Nico O’Reilly’s delightful second-half finish made the difference as we leapfrogged our visitors in the table.

Bournemouth had equalised midway through the first period through Tyler Adams.

Only a quarter of the way through his fourth season in England, Haaland is now just two goals away from joining the Premier League’s exclusive 100 club.

Meanwhile, in just his second league start after an injury-affected beginning to life in Manchester, Rayan Cherki claimed the assists for both Haaland strikes.

The game in 250 words

Bournemouth had the ball in the City net within a minute of kick-off, but striker Eli Kroupi had strayed offside before tapping home.

City took the warning and responded with several attacks of our own, making it count in the 17th minute when a deft Rayan Cherki header set Erling Haaland off into an acre of space.

The Norwegian raced clear of the defence and made no mistake, sliding under Petrovic.

The lead didn’t last long however, with the visitors equalising eight minutes later as Tyler Adams reacted quickest to a Gianluigi Donnarumma punch to turn the ball home.

A game filled with action got its third goal in the 33rd minute and it was the same combination, with Cherki chipping Haaland through.

The Norwegian rounded Petrovic and rolled the ball over the line.

Two more opportunities followed in quick succession, but Nico O'Reilly saw his shot cleared off the line before Haaland was denied by an excellent Petrovic stop.

It remained end-to-end in the second period and Donnarumma was the first goalkeeper tested after the break, turning Kroupi’s hooked shot around the post.

Instead it was City who’d score on the hour as Nico O’Reilly stepped forward, strode into the box and angled a shot inside the far post.

The final significant moment came just before stoppage time, with Rodri returning to the pitch for the first time in almost a month.

There were to be no more goals, with the Blues taking a vital three points and consigning Bournemouth to their first defeat since the opening weekend of the season.

Teams

CITY XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico, Bernardo (C) (Rodri 90), Foden (Ait-Nouri 89), Cherki (Reijnders 73), Doku (Savinho 73), Haaland (Marmoush 82)

Subs: Trafford, Stones, Ake, Lewis

BOURNEMOUTH XI: Petrovic, Jimenez (Cook 62), Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Scott (Christie 73), Adams (Gannon-Doak 79), Tavernier, Brooks (C) (Kluivert 62), Semenyo, Kroupi (Evanilson 62)

Subs: Dennis, Smith, Adli, Milosavljevic

Star man

Erling Haaland - The Norwegian had two clear cut chances and of course, they both ended up in the back of the net.

The dictionary definition of prolific and a striker the envy of the footballing world, the Etihad faithful adores Haaland and it's reciprocated by the man himself.

He now has 13 Premier League goals this season in just 10 games, leading the race for the Golden Boot by seven.

All action nico

Bournemouth are an all-action side so to combat them you need someone strong and composed in the middle of the park.

Nico was that man for City today, winning duels aplenty and mixing up his passes, including the one that started the move for the opener.

As he grows more and more into this role and life in the Premier League, the No14’s talent in and out of possession becomes ever more apparent.

Pep reaction

The boss' thoughts will follow shortly...

Cherki’s influence

Rayan Cherki has had to wait to make his mark on his first campaign at City, but his performances this week tell you just what a player we have on our hands.

The 22-year-old was the star man at Swansea City in midweek and it was two moments of brilliance that supplied Erling Haaland in the first half here.

First up was a smart header into space and then it was about his left foot, curling it through for Haaland to race onto.

Both were feats of vision and confidence that only supremely talented individuals can take on and they’re often what makes the difference at the very highest level.

Player reaction

We'll hear from a member of the squad soon...

What it means

City go second in the Premier League with 19 points from our first 10 games.

We do so by leapfrogging today’s opponents, who drop down to third.

Meanwhile, we’re six points behind leaders Arsenal.

Up next

Borussia Dortmund are the next visitors to the Etihad Stadium at 20:00 (UK) on Wednesday 5 November. That match is our fourth outing in this year’s Champions League.

The next Premier League game sees us host defending champions Liverpool next Sunday at 16:30 (UK).