Erling Haaland made only two passes during Manchester City’s thrashing of Bournemouth. Hence, coach Pep Guardiola insisted that it would take time to bring out the best in the striker.
The £51.2 million signing was occasionally a supporting character on his home debut after scoring twice against West Ham the previous week, but City’s potent offense ensured it didn’t matter to the defending champions as they easily dispatched the Cherries.
Despite having to wait 18 minutes for his first touch, the Norwegian forward assisted Ilkay Gundogan in setting up City’s opening goal, and Guardiola seemed unconcerned with his general lack of engagement.
When a side like Bournemouth defends with three central defenders and two guys in front of them, Erling has the hardest job in the world for a striker, according to Guardiola.
“How are you going to endure being in the middle? We are aware that it is challenging. Many of these circumstances will be discovered; it’s just a matter of time”, coach Guardiola said.
“I don’t have any concerns that we will find him with the proper movement and tempo, as well as the caliber of the guys we have supporting him.”
Since the first kickoff, City had been in control, and more goals soon followed Gundogan’s goal.
With a brilliant solo goal, the excellent Kevin de Bruyne increased the score to 2-0. He ran to the outside of the box before bending the ball with the outside of his boot into the bottom corner.
And just before halftime, Phil Foden secured the victory by seizing on a De Bruyne pass and unleashing a blast that Cherries goalkeeper Mark Travers could not parry.
Ben Pearson’s snapshot from the edge of the area was the lone attempt Bournemouth made to test the home goalkeeper Ederson during their majority of defensive play in a tight 5-4-1 shape.
In the second half, which had already become the home team’s leisurely walk in the Manchester sunlight before Jefferson Lerma’s own goal made it 4-0, Bournemouth never seemed even somewhat capable of mounting a comeback.
Joao Cancelo’s low cross was intended for substitute Bernardo Silva, but Lerma only managed to send the ball spinning past Travers to round off a disastrous afternoon for his club.
The fact that City scored four goals without Haaland contributing to any of them already seems somewhat unexpected, but this victory served as a reminder that this club as a whole, not just their new striker, carries a goal threat.
As soon as Nathan Ake missed with a header from a corner and Rodri missed with a nod from the same source, Bournemouth were in danger.
In the first ten minutes, Riyad Mahrez and Foden both forced saves from Travers, but Haaland would argue that Foden should have squared the ball to find him open in front of the goal rather than shooting.
If Erling Haaland was frustrated by his lack of participation, he did not show it; instead, he used his strength to fend off his marker and set up Gundogan for a stylish finish that sent City on their way.
Haaland’s chances of scoring were slim due to De Bruyne’s brilliant creation of their second and third goals.
The Cherries goalkeeper knocked over the Norwegian’s lob after the latter’s heavy touch on a Ruben Dias pass into the box, which was intercepted by Travers before Haaland could control it.
With 20 minutes remaining, Erling Haaland missed his final opportunity when he screwed wide from a Jack Grealish pull-back. Julian Alvarez was then sent on to take his place.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker had the fewest touches during the game with just two, including two passes, but the home crowd still gave him a standing ovation. Based on this information, City is still difficult to stop even when he isn’t performing at his best.
Despite winning 2-0 against Aston Villa to start the season, Bournemouth never came close to matching that performance at the Etihad Stadium.
With the score at 0-0, Scott Parker’s team found it difficult to leave their half and suffered the price for attempting to go farther up the field after falling behind.
They only succeeded in giving City freedom to attack for the first time, and De Bruyne retaliated by scoring well after darting to the Cherries’ area’s edge unopposed.
When Bournemouth finally moved the ball up to Kieffer Moore at the other end, he gave Pearson a chance to fire, but the visitors’ chances to score were few and far between.
Because of the high heat at Etihad Stadium and the calibre of the opposition, Parker’s team decided that limiting damage was a better strategy than trying to get back into the game.
