But perhaps not in the conventional sense, Manchester City made a message with this performance.
At Bournemouth, City was back to their merciless best and kept the pressure on Arsenal, scoring four goals to lift the club’s spirits after a week of setbacks. After their last two games, City has received a lot of criticism, ranging from their use of Erling Haaland to Pep Guardiola’s frequent changes.
While they checked off a number of alleged deficiencies as if they sided missions to the main goal of getting back to winning ways and earning three points, it appeared as though City were on a mission to prove Guardiola correct on various points one at a time. It was successfully completed at Vitality Stadium.
A trip to Bournemouth after three lengthy away journeys wasn’t ideal, and Guardiola had said that City’s poor play in the two draws that came before this game may have been related to the schedule, even if he was generally pleased with performances.
The City manager made three changes to his lineup, bringing Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, and Rico Lewis back into the lineup. All three players showed why they were called up within the first 15 minutes, helping the Blues take the lead after a fairly level first half. Although Lewis had been targeted on the right, his sliding tackle was ideal to win the ball and get City going.
Foden received a beautiful pass from Ilkay Gundogan, who then cut back for Haaland, whose goal-bound shot was deflected into the crossbar. Following up, Alvarez was in the ideal position to score a poacher’s goal that would do no harm at all to his prospects of remaining on the team by smashing the rebound into the roof of the net.
Prior to it, Rodri missed a shot, and Ruben Dias missed with a diving header after Haaland had a shot blocked for a corner. But, just before the half-hour mark, Haaland scored from four yards to break (another) outstanding record and end his two-game goal drought.
As he sprinted down the left and crossed for Foden, Gundogan became involved once more. Whether a cross or a shot ended up in Haaland’s path is unimportant; still, Haaland didn’t pause to consider this before calmly converting to increase the advantage and establish himself as the City player with the most Premier League goals in a single season.
It should put to rest the notion that City is weaker without their number nine for at least another week as Haaland’s 27th league goal in 24 league games surpasses Sergio Aguero’s record of 26 in 2014–15.
A threaded ball to the striker was cut out just moments after Gundogan received instructions from Haaland, most likely for better service. At RB Leipzig the previous week, Gundogan was found guilty of disregarding Haaland in similar circumstances, but Pep Guardiola defended the more cautious approach by referring to such balls as “risk passes.”
Gundogan was instrumental in both of the first goals and was undoubtedly allowed more leeway to take risks, which paid well for City. As Guardiola has challenged them to do in recent weeks when Haaland’s lack of service has been questioned, Gundogan and Foden deserve praise for making those runs to support Haaland without Kevin De Bruyne.
On the cusp of halftime, City’s third goal wasn’t the result of any such combination play; rather, it came from some good ol’ high pressing, although the source of the pressure was an unexpected left-winger. Robert Dias
Dias, who was pressing the Bournemouth back line with Haaland and Jack Grealish, forced Philip Billing to make a careless ball across his own defense, which Foden took advantage of and finished past Neto for City’s third goal and his first since the World Cup.
After fielding numerous inquiries this week, Guardiola witnessed three significant issues decisively put to rest in a 45-minute span. With his recent exclusions having nothing to do with how City feels about his talent or performances, Foden demonstrated why he is the manager’s “jewel” as City carefully chose when to include Haaland.
And by eliminating Bournemouth with such precision in the first half, City disproved the notion that their four away journeys in 11 days were wearing them out. The Blues will have traveled roughly 3000 miles in the past two weeks by the time they play Bristol City in the FA Cup on Tuesday, but they were ruthless on the South Coast and took no time at all to put an end to the nagging discussions about their inability to capitalize on their opportunities.
With City’s fourth goal, Alvarez gave his manager yet another reminder of the advantages of having him in the penalty area. He intercepted a clearance and fired a shot that was headed wide before Chris Mepham deflected it in. Guardiola frequently chooses Alvarez over Kevin De Bruyne to provide extra bodies in the box, and his placement alone led to two goals for City at crucial moments. Alvarez was a straightforward solution to those apparent scoring problems after two games in which there were 35 shots but just two goals.
Guardiola has always maintained that as long as chances are being taken, there shouldn’t be any serious concerns. Guardiola maintained composure and continued to offer straightforward and practical solutions to the previous two painful draws as supporters and commentators panicked this week. He suggested Alvarez as a way to increase the presence in the opposition box and requested Gundogan and Foden to make more runs to support Haaland. Just like that.
This was a performance that highlighted how challenging Guardiola’s lineup decisions can be, helped by his “diamond.” Foden contributed to all four goals, Grealish went under the radar but has been outstanding recently, and Riyad Mahrez demonstrated this week that he won’t be willing to give up his spot anytime soon.
In response, Bournemouth launched a couple of attacks, and substitute midfielder Sergio Gomez nearly missed a shot. Although it broke Ederson’s clean sheet, Jefferson Lerma’s consolation goal seemed to make the Bournemouth supporters content enough despite the 4-1 final score.
At the end of the game, City’s midfield lineup included Kalvin Phillips, Gomez, and newcomer Maximo Perrone, who was backed up by youngster Rico Lewis. On Wednesday, Guardiola defended his decision to play with a center lineup that may have been the least experienced in his career at the club with all five substitutes. Many days really do make a difference.
On this occasion, Guardiola supported his recent fiery and fervent interviews with a methodical demonstration of how everything should function when it comes together. Back on Arsenal’s heels, City hushed naysayers at the Vitality Stadium, which is perhaps even more significant.
The players are once again confident in themselves, the coach, and possibly the title race.