Asked if he thought De Bruyne was the Premier League’s best player, Guardiola said: “I don’t know”.
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De Bruyne unleashed a stinging left-footed drive that was pushed to safety by Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc inside the first 15 seconds and the Belgium global was on hand to provide a 15th-minute opener.
But under Guardiola, this City team looks an entirely different proposition – even accounting for the fact that much of the personnel that started against Bournemouth were the same as last season.
And on City’s 100 per cent start to the season, Guardiola said: “To win many games in a row in the Premier League is complicated… We are so, so lucky that we have Kevin with us”.
For the first time in their history, City win their first eight matches of the season (all competitions).
What would have been a ideal day for Guardiola was soured by Nolito’s needless sending off with minutes to go after a head-butt on Adam Smith.
Heavy plaudits should also go to Raheem Sterling, whose pace and verve from the flank made it a nightmare afternoon for Bournemouth left-back Charlie Daniels and the rest of Bournemouth’s defence whenever Sterling darted through the middle.
It took City just two minutes into the second half to score their third of the day as Sterling added his name to he scoresheet. Theo Walcott eventually doubled Arsenal’s lead 10 minutes into the second half, latching onto a neat back-heel by Iwobi.
Gareth Barry scored on his 600th top-flight appearance to spark Everton’s comeback after goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg’s own goal put Middlesbrough ahead.
Last weekend they recorded a 2-1 win over crosstown rivals United in an embarrassingly one-sided Manchester derby, and then they carried the momentum into a 4-0 thrashing of a talented Borussia Mönchengladbach side in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for the visitors, deflecting Alex Iwobi’s shot past Eldin Jakupovic before Jake Livermore was sent off for handball. We want to see Jack in their half and in the final third but we didn’t get there enough so to see his best qualities was impossible today. “He understands the game, he is physically strong, he helps us out a lot defensively, aggressive without the ball and with the ball it is clear. We need to concentrate on our league form and get some wins there and that’s where it matters”.
Sterling was a constant thorn in the side and nearly scored a goal-of-the-season candidate after skipping past five men and striking the post.
“They were better than us but I’m disappointed with our performance”.
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After moving into its shiny new home at the Olympic Stadium, 2016/17 was supposed to signal the start of a new era for the London club.
