Manchester City continued their free-scoring ways with a 5-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
Manuel Pellegrini's men retained their place at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a hat-trick from big-money summer signing Raheem Sterling and a double from Wilfried Bony who replaced the injured Sergio Aguero.
Close-range finished form the pair had City two to the good after 11 minutes before Glenn Murray's deflected effort had Eddie Howe's side back in the contest.
A composed finish from Sterling on the half-hour mark, after shrugging off a pair of defenders, had City back in command before the former Liverpool winger completed his treble on the stroke of half-time when firing through the legs of hapless Bournemouth keeper Adam Federici.
Bony wrapped it up in the 89th minute when slotting beyond the Australian after nicely controlling Jesus Navas' cross form the right.
City remain two points clear of second-placed Arsenal as top flight debutants Bournemouth dropped to 17th position after being outclassed by the 2014 champions.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Manchester City: 5 (Raheem Sterling 7'/29'/45+3', Wilfried Bony 11'/89')
Bournemouth: 1 (Glenn Murray 22')
Etihad Stadium, Manchester - 54,502
TALKING POINTS
- Even without Aguero and David Silva, City managed to score 5 goals. Are they clearly the team to beat this season?
- Can Bournemouth fight their way back to form or will they continue to slide into the bottom three?
WHAT'S NEXT?
Man City host Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday before taking on crosstown rivals United in the Manchester derby on Sunday as Bournemouth prepare to host Tottenham.
TWITTER INSIGHT
Good way to start an important spell of games. Congrats to @sterling7 for his first hat-trick at Man City. #MCFC
— Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany) October 17, 2015To win and to lead.
We are still in the right direction! Thank you all for your support!
#mcfc#premierleaguepic.twitter.com/2caz947tUu
— Eliaquim Mangala (@Elia22Mangala) October 17, 2015Disappointing result today but we will bounce back. Amazing following and support from our fans today. #Togetherness#afcb
— Marc Pugh (@MarcPugh7) October 17, 2015
QUOTES CORNER
Man City's Pellegrini on Sterling's hat-trick:
"I think it was important for Raheem to score three goals. He must improve his finishing - he did that today. He's young and will continue to get better."
Bournemouth boss Howe on his side's defeat:
"We always knew it was going to be very difficult. It was our first experience of the top four and we didn't deal with it very well."
STATS SPECIALS
*Thanks to Opta
11 - Raheem Sterling has become the 11th different player to score a Premier League hat-trick while aged under 21. Prodigy.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 20154 - Wilfried Bony has scored or assisted four goals in his last four Premier League starts for Man City (2 goals, 2 assists). Replacement.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 20159 - Glenn Murray has scored nine Premier League goals in 22 apps in 2015, compared to one goal in 16 PL apps before this year. Improvement.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 2015
TEAM LEADERS
MAN CITY
Goals - Sergio Aguero 6
Assists - David Silva 6
Clean sheets - Joe Hart 4
Yellow cards - Eliaquim Mangala 4
BOURNEMOUTH
Goals - Callum Wilson 5
Assists - Simon Francis 2
Clean sheets - Artur Boruc 1
Yellow cards - Matt Ritchie 3
