MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - MANCHESTER CITY 6-1 BOURNEMOUTH

Image courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

A scintillating performance from Jeremy Doku saw Manchester City thrash Bournemouth on their return to the Etihad Stadium, to continue their fine run of form.

City - who were playing a Bournemouth side that have performed under par this season, and only picked up their first victory of the season last weekend - were expected to run away with this one comfortably. However, no-one could've anticipated Doku's performance, and the way in which he ran Bournemouth ragged for the entirety of the match.

After 30 minutes of failing to break down Bournemouth's stubborn low block, a one-two between Doku and Rodri on the edge of the box saw the 21 year old in space. His deflected shot beat Neto in goal to give the Blues the lead, and give Doku his first goal at the Etihad.

The second goal came shortly after, with Doku at the heart of the move yet again. He twisted and taunted the Bournemouth defender on the right hand side, before cutting the ball back to Bernardo Silva in space in the box, who slid the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.

4 minutes later, the Blues effectively sealed the game, as Doku's long range left footed shot took a deflection off Manuel Akanji and beyond the stranded goalkeeper. That's two goals in two games for the Swiss international, who's overall performances are making him very difficult to drop at this point in time.

After a period of control for the rest of the first half, Bournemouth thought they had a consolation goal at the start of the second period, but VAR confirmed the assistant referee's suspicions that Ryan Christie was in an offside position before crossing to Dominic Solanke.

City eventually extended their lead further through substitute Phil Foden, who received Doku's pass in the penalty area, brought the ball under control and slammed in from close range, to make it a hattrick of assists for the Belgian.

Bournemouth grabbed a consolation goal through substitute Luis Sinisterra, after City made a few changes of their own, by bringing on Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes and Kalvin Phillips for three key players in John Stones, Julian Alvarez and Rodri.

But there was still time for more attacking play from City, and yet another moment of magic from Doku. He played a lovely long ball over the top of the defence to Bernardo, who was in acres of space charging towards goal on the right hand side.

Bernardo skipped past Lloyd Kelly and produced a sumptuous chip that manager Pep Guardiola said afterwards reminded him of Lionel Messi. After it was cleared on the line, Nunes made sure by following it in, but the goal was Bernardo's, and the assist was Doku's fourth (FOURTH) of the game.

And the icing on the cake was Nathan Ake's second goal of the season, as he pounced on substitute Oscar Bobb's cross to head home against his former side after good work down the right hand side from the young Norwegian.

The team played well as a unit, as they controlled the game more or less from start to finish, other than at the start of the second half and for a few minutes after Bournemouth's goal. There were some fine individual performances from Rodri, Bernardo, Akanji, Foden and Ake in particular. But no-one came close to Doku's level.

It is not hyperbolic to say that he looked a threat every time he touched the ball. His ability to slow the game down to a stand still, and then burst past a defender at a frightening speed is like nothing I've ever seen before from anyone in a City shirt.

In the last match against Brighton, Doku rinsed James Milner every single time, but struggled slightly with end product, often putting in a wayward cross or shot. But against Bournemouth, it seemed like everything he touched turned to gold, as he walked away with 1 goal and 4 assists.

Guardiola now has a positive selection headache as to who he selects on the left hand side between Doku and Jack Grealish. Both appear to be in a rich vein of form, and offer very different things to the City side, and I'd suspect both will see plenty of game time and contribute greatly to City's success this season.

City are back at the Etihad midweek, as they take on Young Boys in the Champions League knowing 3 points is enough to see them qualify for the next round. Their next Premier League clash is away to Chelsea, and it's impossible to predict just how that game may turn out, due to Chelsea's inconsistencies and the fact they're better in more open games, rather than against a deep block.

Liverpool, Tottenham, and RB Leipzig all await on the horizon for City, but the Blues will be confident going into those games knowing that they're currently the most dominant team in the world, and will likely only improve as the season goes on.

Here are the player ratings for the victory against the Cherries:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - Other than a few loose passes, Ederson's build up play was secure, and crucial as ever to City's possession game. Couldn't do much about Bournemouth's goal, and had very, very little else to do.

Walker - 6.5/10 - Showed off his pace a few times in tracking back, and offered the width on the right hand side to allow Bernardo to roam more centrally. Played a nice through ball to Doku in the build up for the second goal, and was good with his passing otherwise.

Akanji - 7.5/10 - Had a very good overall game. His passing was accurate and progressive, and he showed an element to his game that we've not really seen before - pace. The 28 year old showed Solanke a clean pair of heels a few times when chasing onto long balls. As mentioned above, Akanji is making himself a very difficult player to drop!

Stones - 7/10 - It was a shame that Stones wasn't allowed to play in the more advanced role that he excelled in against Manchester United. Nonetheless, playing as the deepest lying player, he showed his range of passing and defensive solidity to lead the backline in Ruben Dias's absence.

Ake - 8/10 - Kept his side very much shut down, and wasn't to blame for the goal, given the fact it was Doku who let his man slip. Ake passed the ball well, defended well in 1 vs 1 scenarios, and rounded it all off with a well taken goal against the club in which he's considered by many to be their greatest ever player.

Rodri - 7.5/10 - Kept the game ticking in the centre of the park, as he sprayed the ball around. Did well to just lay the ball off for Doku for the first goal. Once again, however, City conceded as soon as he left the pitch, which has to be a long term concern.

Alvarez - 6.5/10 - Offered a lot of energy in the pockets, and drove at Bournemouth's backline on a few occasions. In the second half, without Erling Haaland, he looked a lot less effective, as there was no-one to hold the ball up high up the pitch for him to play off.

Kovacic - 6.5/10 - Started out sloppily, with a few misplaced passes. He improved throughout the game however, as his ball carrying and passing became a lot sharper. He hasn't hit the heights of his first few matches at the club, but is getting closer to that level every match.

Bernardo - 9/10 - The 29 year old is entering a period of form reminiscent of this period in the 2021/22 season, where he simply looked majestic in every game. He took both of his goals magnificently, and is beginning to look an even more well rounded player in the fact that he doesn't seem to have a best position. If this is to be his last season at City, then so far he's signing out in style!

Haaland - 7/10 - Despite not scoring, or even really getting a chance, Haaland looked a threat all game. He obviously had the Bournemouth defence petrified, making a few menacing runs in behind, and it was his presence alone that won the corner leading to Akanji's goal.

Doku - 10/10 - There isn't much that hasn't already been said about Doku, so I'll say this. He is the most effective player City have at breaking down deep blocks, due to his stop start acceleration that was mentioned above, which therefore means it'll likely be at least until next season that we start seeing him start big away games. This is nothing to worry about, but once he starts a big away game in the Premier League or Europe, we'll know he's fully gained Guardiola's trust.

Substitutes:

Foden - 7.5/10 - Had an overall positive impact on the game, as he was very involved playing in Alvarez's first half position. A lovely finish for his goal, and like with Grealish and Doku, it is very difficult to leave him out of the side at the moment, and it'll be interesting to see if that changes when Kevin de Bruyne is fit again.

Lewis - 6.5/10 - Passed the ball well, which meant City didn't miss Stones's passing ability when he left the pitch.

Phillips - 6.5/10 - Not a bad performance from Phillips, as he moved the ball well, and looked aggressive and tenacious in winning it back. He obviously isn't as good as Rodri, but isn't floundering as badly as some make him out to be, and I wouldn't mind him staying at the club in January and fighting for a more regular place.

Nunes - 6/10 - Slightly sloppy when he came on the pitch, giving the ball away a few times in daft circumstances. However, he played a role in City's sixth goal, and took the rebound from Bernardo's goal well on the volley, as he wasn't to know it had already crossed the line.

Bobb - Not enough time to rank, although his cross for Ake for the sixth goal was excellent.