Ten-man Manchester City breezed past AFC Bournemouth on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Etihad Stadium, winning 4-0. 

Two wonderful goals of very different variety saw Pep Guardiola's side head into half-time 2-0 up. The magnificent Kevin De Bruyne struck first, diverting a clever free-kick under a disjointed Cherries wall to open the scoring, before a classy counter-attack ended with Raheem Sterling setting up Kelechi Iheanacho who tapped into an empty net.

The sensational Sterling then found himself on the scoresheet soon after half-time when he finished off another tidy passing move. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan then grabbed his first goal for his new club when he finished off another sweeping move. 

The only downside to a near-perfect performance from Guardiola's side was the red card awarded to Nolito for a petulent head butt. The winger will now miss his team's next three games.

Wilshere given first start

Unsurprisingly, neither manager opted to make many changes to their respective sides. Iheanacho continued to lead the line for the Citizens instead of the suspended Sergio Aguero while John Stones was rested having started every competitve game under his new boss. 

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe handed a first start to Jack Wilshere. The midfielder, on loan from Arsenal, came off the bench last weekend against West Brom and it seemed he did enough to impress his new manager in his 30 minute cameo.

City confidence flowing

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has taken very little time to settle into his new club. A winning mentality has already been instilled in a very similar fashion to Chelsea's first season under Jose Mourinho.

However City's playing style is of a complete contrast to that all-conquering Chelsea side of 2004/05. The fluidity of the Citizens' midfield in particular is awe-inspiring and each player is on the same wavelength.

City's front four were running rings around a shadow-chasing Bournemouth in the opening exchanges and a free-kick was conceded on the edge of the box on 15 minutes. The confidence evident during the first period was epitomised by the resulting kick as De Bruyne had the cheek to sneak the ball under the wall and into the corner of the net. 

Following another ten minutes of dominance from the hosts, Iheanacho doubled his side's lead; tucking away a simple chance following a free-flowing passing move that started after a Bournemouth free-kick came to nothing. 

Although a notorious cliche, a third goal in a game can almost certainly always be the most important. A goal for Howe's side would have sparked a nervy few moments for City, but 3-0 would definitely clinch all three points. 

There was only going to be one side who scored that third goal, however, as Sterling made the game safe soon after half time. The goal was very similar in fashion to Iheanacho's strike as a crisp passing move allowed the scrutinised England winger to tap home from inside six yards. 

It was party mode for the hosts from thereafter and Gundogan grabbed a goal on his Premier League debut to add further wounds to a poor Bournemouth side. 

A incident involving Nolito and Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith saw the winger sent off for an alleged head butt late in the game in what was the only downer in an emphatic display from Guardiola's side. 

Contrasting starts, where do each side go from here?

Howe's side struggled to get out of their own half on many occasions, such was the sheer superiority of the hosts. A poor start to the season with just four points picked up from the opening five games shows that plenty of work is still to be done. Defending was one of their key strengths in their surprising survival surge last campaign but nine league goals conceded this season shows that a leaky back four could be their detriment as they bid to stay up for a second-second season. 

Meanwhile, it is unclear where are how Man City are going to lose a game of football. Of course, they certainly will not go the full season unbeaten, such is the comptitiveness of England's top-flight, but th Citizens have seemed indestructible in all seven competitive games so far.

Both sides turn to English League Cup action in midweek with City travelling to Swansea City and Bournemouth hosting Preston North End

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About the author
Sam Smith
VAVEL UK sub-editor. Premier League and Football League accredited journalist.