(Premier League 2023/2024): Highlights Man City - Bournemouth

Well after basking in the glory of a quite majestic Derby victory at Old Trafford, the Blues return to the Etihad Stadium with a chance to move back to the top of the Premier League table. And of course this is the last Premier League fixture here at the Etihad Stadium before the Remembrance Weekend. Sight of a huge poppy in the centre of the pitch tells you that the Blues are going to pay their respects to those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. Rodri now advances towards the edge of the area. Plays it out wide to Walker. Walker in the right wing position. Back to Bernardo Silva. Bournemouth defending their box well. Akanji therefore joins it. On it goes to Walker again. Walker's cross towards Harlan. It's a two-fisted punch by the goalkeeper. Rodri wins it back. Alvarez takes it on. He plays it back to Ake. Ake wide to Doku. Doku now on the point of the edge of the area. Trying to get into the penalty area. Works a little angle onto Rodri. Looks for the one-two. Hits the shot. Brilliant goal. Doku one-two with Rodri and poked it in almost like a toe bung into the corner of the net. Wonderful move from City. Bournemouth finally broken down. City won and Bournemouth nil. Jeremy Doku. Brilliant and a great reaction from the players knowing how important that was at this stage of the game. Great little one-two. Doku just dropped his shoulder. Just comes inside on Meppen and I'm not sure whether there might have been a little deflection in there but Doku's got to take great credit for being inventive. The cushion pass from Rodri. Look at that to get that weight. Now brilliant. Fantastic. Now City with Alvarez. Alvarez onto Doku. Doku is in the mood. He rampages forward. He's down the middle this time. He's out wide to Walker. Walker on the edge of the area. Onto Doku again. Doku with a little step over. Comes into the box. Goes outside. Goes inside. On it goes to Bernardo Silva. Jimmy Doku's having a blinder and Bernardo Silva is the latest beneficiary and City lead by two goals to nil and Jeremy Doku who scored the first was absolutely sensational in creating the second. Doku's come across the pitch and then you've got Max Ahrens who's been man marketing the whole game and then I just think it's Kelly just tears him to bits when he gets him one-on-one in the box. Great ball out wide. Carries on his movement and there and Doku gets you inside the box now. Look at his feet. He's that quick. What a great goal. We're just saying now if they maintain that it's so difficult and that's that for me as much as City's quality it's almost just been mentally fatigued after half an hour into the game. They've done it again. Another short one on the edge of the area is Bernardo Silva. Plays it across to Doku. Doku in a shooting position. Hits the shot. Well three-nil. Jeremy Doku. Two for Doku. I'm not sure if that might have just taken a ricochet on the way through but it doesn't matter to Doku. He takes the applause of the supporters and he deserves to melt in those applause. 3v2. Edge of the box hopefully exposed. I mean it's so bad from Bournemouth. I'm thinking that might actually be an Akanji goal yeah. It did that. I thought it took a deflection because it did seem to go in a weird way and it was actually a deflection off Akanji. I think Doku's shot was going wide if I'm being honest and I think when they actually look at it back that will be an Akanji goal not a Doku goal. Walker goes out wide to Bernardo Silva. Bernardo Silva plays it in field to Foden. Foden on the turn. Spins away in the central midfield area. Helps it out wide to Doku. Doku up against Aarons. Doku keeps on going. On it goes towards Foden. Foden. 4-0. Doku with another assist. City with another goal and if there was any lingering doubt and to be honest there probably wasn't. We now know the points are the Blues. Just thinking there that that's when when City aren't the most dangerous. When the opposition have had a chance they slightly switch off from that dogged defending mentality. Once Doku gets you you're in trouble. You back you into the box but it's this here from Foden. The ball is in City territory at the moment and they might score here you know because Sinisterra has slipped it under the body of Edison. It's City 4 Bournemouth 1. They're going to check for an offside in the build-up but at the moment City's lead has been eradicated by one. So let's have a look. Was there an offside in the build-up? We're just checking it now. No that's not offside. So it will stand. It will be 4-1. Sinisterra unless he was offside when he received the pass from the right wing from Max Ahrens. They are checking it VAR but I don't think that it's going to be ruled out. Ake, Doku. Doku away from Ahrens again. Lovely ball out to Bernardo Silva. Bernardo Silva rampaging forward. Chance for a fifth for Bernardo Silva. Goes inside. Scoops it in. Off the line. Well Bernardo Silva says it crossed. Well it has now and City lead by five goals to one. Well Bernardo Silva thought he'd already scored but the referee looked at his watch and I think he said it hadn't and then finally it was bundled in by Matias Nunes. No one sure who scored it. What is a fact is it's 5-1. Yeah I think it had gone over the line before Nunes put the rebound in. Bernardo Silva jinxed inside. Flicks it over the top of the goalkeeper. It's cleared off the line by Zabani. Thumped in by Nunes but I think it was already Bernardo Silva's goal. Now Rico Luis round the outside. Was he fouled? Referee says no. Goal kick. No corner. Corner in fact. City corner wide on the right-hand side with three minutes to go. So an out swinging corner. Matias Nunes hits it short. Oscar Bob joins in and it goes to Foden. Foden to Walker. Walker out to Foden again. Foden out wide. Nunes into the gap for Bob. Bob hard and low and number six Nathan Ake practically on the floor. Heads it into the back of the net. Oscar Bob with an assist. Nathan Ake with a head up and it's City six Bournemouth one. Well I think what we'll see today is every other team play against Bournemouth. How they're going to play their corners. It's the second phase of a corner yet again and for me um enjoying watching City pull Bournemouth apart but wow how they haven't gone in at half time and said we're gonna have to put an extra player out and go 3v3 because they just worked their way inside. Well they don't show the initial play but it's just so easy. I think that might be three or four goals today that have been the second phase or a part of a corner routine. Bournemouth been absolutely appalling. Bournemouth with Ake. On to Nunes. Nunes to Kovacic. Kovacic on towards Bob. Bob now into the final third. On to Kovacic. Kovacic. Oh it's at the goalkeeper. First opportunity for Kovacic and that is how the second half concludes and City have been once again quite mesmeric. They were held by a very defence organised Bournemouth until the 30th minute but the man of the match Doku played a 1-2 with Rodri and the Blues were in front after half an hour and City had six of the best and they moved to the top of the Premier League table. The final score at the Etihad Stadium City 6 Bournemouth 1.