Haaland double puts Man City second after win over Bournemouth

Erling Haaland scored another brace as Manchester City leapfrogged AFC Bournemouth to go second in the Premier League with a 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland netted twice in the opening 33 minutes, applying two composed one-on-one finishes after being released by Rayan Cherki on both occasions. 

Between Haaland's goals, Bournemouth briefly got back on level terms via Tyler Adams, who took advantage of an error from Gianluigi Donnarumma, and the visitors pushed for another equaliser early in the second half.

However, Nico O'Reilly made the points safe for City on the hour with a neat finish across Djordje Petrovic, as they moved six points behind leaders Arsenal.

Bournemouth are one point adrift of Pep Guardiola's men in fourth, though they will be replaced in the top four by Sunderland should the Black Cats avoid defeat against Everton on Monday.

How the match unfolded

After Junior Kroupi had a close-range finish disallowed for offside 45 seconds in, City went ahead in the 17th minute. Cherki's clever header sent Haaland racing through and he made no mistake with his finish.

Bournemouth hit back in the 25th minute as Donnarumma completely miscued his punch from Alex Scott's corner, allowing Adams to hook into an unguarded net.

But City were soon back in front as Haaland latched on to Cherki's defence-splitting pass, rounded Petrovic, and tucked home.

City could have extended their lead before half-time, but Alex Jimenez turned O'Reilly's effort off the line, while Petrovic was equal to a dinked effort from Haaland and a curling free-kick from Cherki. 

Kroupi squandered two decent chances to get Bournemouth back on level terms before O'Reilly made the visitors pay, picking out the bottom-right corner after being fed by Phil Foden.

Marcus Tavernier skewed wide from Antoine Semenyo's cross, but City were largely comfortable after scoring their third goal and received a further boost when Rodri returned from a hamstring injury as a late substitute.

Haaland's home run continues with help from Cherki

Having lost 1-0 to Aston Villa last time out in the Premier League, City entered this game nine points behind Arsenal and with little margin for error.

Fortunately for City, they have one of the world's most in-form forwards in their ranks, as Haaland scored his fourth successive brace in Premier League home games.

Two clinical finishes ensured Haaland has now scored 13 of City's 20 Premier League goals this season. He is just two goals away from reaching a century in the competition, having only played 107 games.

Some have suggested those numbers point to an overreliance on the Norwegian, but City's supporting cast were also excellent here.

Cherki marked his first Premier League start since August with two assists, with the first particularly impressive as his instinctive flick-on released Haaland without the striker needing to break stride.

Jeremy Doku was also a bright spark throughout, while Foden – making his 200th Premier League appearance – played a key role in O'Reilly's clincher, spinning away from Adams in midfield before finding his team-mate on the stretch.

With Haaland firing on all cylinders and City's creative players also coming into form, Guardiola will have high hopes ahead of two huge home games over the next seven days, against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League and Liverpool in the league.

Cherries' defending leaves sour taste

Bournemouth went into this game on the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, having gone eight games without losing since their dramatic 4-2 defeat at Liverpool on the opening day.

And Andoni Iraola's side made a confident start, with David Brooks wriggling into the box before his centre was swept in by Kroupi. However, the Frenchman should really have done better when looking along the line, as he wondered into an offside position.

The Cherries were not discouraged after falling behind, with Adams profiting when Donnarumma mistimed his punch under the slightest bit of pressure from Brooks. They also had further half-chances on the break, with their wingers lively.

But Iraola will not be impressed by the manner of City's goals. Every Bournemouth outfielder was in the hosts’ half when Cherki's header sent Haaland clear for the opener, and Adrien Truffert's poor attempt to play offside allowed the Norwegian in for his second.

Bournemouth made a bright start to the second half, but Kroupi saw one shot ripple the side netting and another sting the palms of Donnarumma, and they never truly threatened a comeback after O'Reilly's goal.

Iraola's team must now lick their wounds after seeing their unbeaten run come to an end, ahead of next week's visit to a possible rival for European qualification, Aston Villa.

Club reports

Man City report | Bournemouth report

What the managers said

Pep Guardiola: "Bournemouth are one of the most demanding teams that we have faced. We found our rhythm and today we were better in many aspects.

"Bournemouth played an outstanding game. Last season they destroyed us. You have to match their duels otherwise...look in the second half. We lost three or four balls and they kill you.

"They are incredible. It is no surprise for me what they did last season. They lost three of their four defenders and they are still there."

Andoni Iraola: "To get something from these kind of games you need something special.

"In the first half we pressed like we always do. They find our backs with the first two goals very well. You have to accept sometimes when you play like this they punish us. I am pleased with the performance overall.

"Haaland is that good. He is in great form and with the spaces it is very difficult to defend. We didn't want to change the way we were playing. He punished us two times. The timing was not there from our centre-backs."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Erling Haaland has scored 13 Premier League goals this season for Manchester City; the only players to score as many or more in their side's first 10 matches of a campaign in the competition are Les Ferdinand (13 in 1995/96) and Haaland himself (15 in 2022/23).

Bournemouth have only won two of their last 11 away games in the Premier League (D5 L4), conceding 2+ goals in eight of those matches.

Phil Foden made his 200th Premier League appearance, while, aged 25 years and 158 days, he was the youngest of the 15 players to reach that landmark for Manchester City in the competition, taking the record from Raheem Sterling (26y 284d).

Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams scored his first goal in 127 appearances in all club competitions since netting for RB Leipzig against Mainz in January 2021, four years and 283 days ago.