Once Again, Sterling Covers Man City's Patootie

Make no mistake, unheralded Bournemouth is a fiesty side.

The Cherries capitalized on a listless Manchester City performance before Raheem Sterling lit the match that turned this into the Citizens' eighth victory outta eight home matches this season.

The 3-1 result kept City atop the Premiership, with further thanks to Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gündogan.

This also showed that Pep Guardiola can afford to rest a few of his elite players and still come out on top.

 

City had its listless spells, but when they were on, they were the City their fans know and love.

In the 16th minute, Fernandinho targeted Leroy Sané with a long pass from midfield, but goalkeeper Asmir Begović was able to break it up.

However, the ball fell to the Portuguese international Silva, who fired home:

 

In the 44th minute, though, Bournemouth took advantage of an extended flat spell by the home side.

Dudes surprised them with a Simon Francis cross where Callum Wilson rose higher than both Danilo and Nicolas Otamendi and sent a screamer to Ederson's top right corner leveling the match halftime:

 

After having so much control but only a potential point to show for it, City showed what they're made of in the second half.

Once again, it was Sterling leading the charge.

In the 57th minute, Danilo's shot forced Begović to make a good save. That's when Mr Right Place, Right Time pounced on the rebound to restore the Citizen lead:

 

Then, in the 79th minute, City got their insurance goal when Gündogan received a low cross from Sané.

Money.

 

As his coach said, he didn't know what the German international had for breakfast, but he hopes it becomes a habit.

Most important meal of the day, they keep saying.

 

Dude played a major role in keeping City on top.

Combined with Sterling's opportunism and the club's depth, the Citizens are currently -- shall we say? -- sittin' in tall cotton.

They're looking as set for the long haul as they've usually done in recent campaigns.