Once again it's the Sané and Sterling Show as Blues extend gap: Man City Player Ratings vs. Bournemouth – City Watch

Manchester City had to dig deep to come away with another home win at the Etihad Stadium against a bold Bournemouth side today.

Bernardo Silva opened the scoring but the game was level at half-time after Callum Wilson headed in an equaliser. In the second half, City turned it up a notch with Raheem Sterling scoring yet again against Eddie Howe’s side, before Ilkay Gundogan wrapped things up.

Here’s how we rated the team today.

Ederson – 6

Busier than he might have expected to be given City’s recent drubbings of Bournemouth. The Cherries got forward plenty today and Ederson had to make several interventions. There’s an argument he should have done more to keep out Wilson’s goal.

Danilo – 5

Poor defensively at times in what was his first Premier League start of the season. In that sense, he can perhaps be excused for not being quite in tune with his teammates. The Brazilian played his part in the second goal though, as his shot was spilled by Begovic, allowing Sterling to give City the lead.

Nicolas Otamendi – 6

He could have done more to prevent Wilson’s goal but otherwise was decent again and made an important block to deny King just before Bournemouth’s goal.

Aymeric Laporte – 6.5

City’s best player of late made a rare mistake which almost let Bournemouth in. Other than that, it’s hard to complain and if you haven’t seen the match yet, look out for his exquisite pass in the build-up to Bernardo’s goal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7

His passing in the first half was quite phenomenal with a couple of long passes in particular standing out. The second of those led directly to Bernardo Silva’s opener. Unfortunately forced off when a cut on his nose refused to stop bleeding.

Fernandinho – 7

The captain in his rainbow armband performed very well again, helping dictate the game when City were in control and doing his defensive work when necessary. Typical Fernandinho if not his peak level performance.

Ilkay Gundogan – 6.5

A little slow in transitions and it’s quite clear that he’s a notch below City’s best midfielders, but as much as people like to complain about ‘Silky’ Ilkay, he comes up with important goals and you will find very few players of his quality willing to spend so much time on the bench. A solid display and he scored City’s third goal.

Bernardo Silva – 7.5

Another good display by the Portuguese playmaker who fired home City’s opener and made some key passes. With Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva not starting, City fans might once have panicked, but with Bernardo now hitting another level, there is no need to worry.

Raheem Sterling – 8

Bournemouth fans must hate Raheem, who just scores and scores against them. He became the first player in Premier League history to score in his first six appearances against an opposition team today. Scored another poacher’s goal but just before almost bagged what would have been a Messi level goal after going on an unbelievable run and hitting the post with a deflected effort.

Leroy Sané – 8.5 (Man of the Match)

The stadium Man of the Match is also our pick today, edging out Sterling for the award. From the early minutes Leroy was a menace for the Bournemouth defence, sending in some dangerous crosses. Not only that, but his defensive work was excellent and at one point he received a great cheer from the Etihad crowd for tracking back a long distance. Set up Gundogan’s goal with a perfectly placed cross.

Gabriel Jesus – 6

It’s very hard to judge and rate Gabriel Jesus. He can no longer score it seems, although we’re all hoping that changes some day. But in terms of his work ethic and contribution to the greater good, he never stops trying and does contribute to many of City’s moves. In the long run, he has to score more goals though.

Subs:

Fabian Delph – 7

Like the man he replaced, Zinchenko, the recent England captain performed well. Though City have no like-for-like replacement for Mendy, Delph and Zinchenko always do a fine job of deputising when the Frenchman is injured.

David Silva – 7

He only had 15 or so minutes on the pitch, stoppage time included, and it’s often pointless to rate players who appear so late. But the Spaniard made an instant impact, playing a perfectly weighted pass to Sané, who squared the ball for Gundogan to score.

Riyad Mahrez – N/A

A late replacement for Gabriel Jesus.