English Premier League: Exquisite City firm as EPL favourites

Pep Guardiola is already making history at Manchester City.

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling cuts through the Bournemouth defence.

Pep Guardiola is already making history at Manchester City.

By beating Bournemouth 4-0 in the English Premier League yesterday, City opened a season with eight straight wins for the first time in the club’s 136-year existence. Five of those have come in the league and the other three in the Champions League. City are averaging more than three goals a game under Guardiola, who has turned the team into an irresistible attacking unit. And surely clear title favourites.

It was a stroll against Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium, with Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho scoring in the first half before Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan added goals in the second. There were audible gasps from City fans relishing the silky passing and buildup play of what’s shaping to be the most entertaining team in the club’s history.

There’s also intelligence behind the excellence. Iheanacho said City noticed in their research for the game that Bournemouth’s players jump in the wall at free kicks on the edge of the area. So when De Bruyne got his first chance, he rolled his effort underneath the line of jumping visiting players and into the net. That got City rolling in the 15th minute — and De Bruyne played a part in the other three goals, too. The Belgium midfielder split Bournemouth’s defence with through-balls in the buildup to the goals of Iheanacho and Sterling, before saving his best pass until last.

The timing and weight of his angled pass to the onrushing Gundogan was perfect, and the Germany midfielder marked his Premier League debut by slotting his finish into the corner.

Guardiola said De Bruyne was one of the best players he has managed, adding: “(Lionel) Messi is on a table on his own. Kevin is there with the rest.”

City were one of three teams to score four goals as Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion also enjoyed big wins on a high-scoring day of 22 goals in five games in the league.

Arsenal’s Chile international Alexis Sanchez scored a goal in each half to inspire his team’s third straight league win, four days after grabbing a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champ­ions League.

Theo Walcott and Granit Xhaka scored Arsenal’s other goals, with Robert Snodgrass replying for Hull with a penalty that made it 2-1 in the 79th.

It was some EPL debut for Islam Slimani at Leicester.

The Algeria striker scored twice as the champions eased past Burnley with a second straight 3-0 win, having beaten Club Brugge by that score in the Champions League last Wednesday.

Elsewhere Everton beat Middlesbrough 3-0 and West Bromich Albion downed West Ham 4-2. It was the Hammers’ second successive loss by the same score.

AP