Manchester City bounced back as they returned to winning ways with an emphatic 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.
After their disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last week was followed by another in the Champions League at RB Leipzig on Wednesday, City responded with a ruthless performance at the Vitality Stadium.
Goals from Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and a Chris Mepham own goal took Pep Guardiola's men back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, after the Gunners had beaten Leicester City earlier in the day.
Bournemouth pulled a late goal back through Jefferson Lerma but slip to 19th in the table after West Ham and Leeds United both won against Nottingham Forest and Southampton respectively.
City took the lead in the 15th minute after Rico Lewis won the ball back on the right, with a swift attack leading to Haaland hitting the crossbar with a deflected effort, and Alvarez tapping in the rebound from close range when it fell kindly for him.
It was two just before the half-hour mark when Ilkay Gundogan's cross from the left found Foden, who was put off by a last-ditch tackle by Jordan Zemura, only for the ball to roll to Haaland who slammed home.
The third came just before half-time courtesy of a sloppy square pass from Philip Billing, which presented the ball on a plate for Foden to finish with ease past Neto on his 200th City appearance.
City continued attacking in the second half and had a fourth after a Foden ball in from the right was cleared by Marcos Senesi, but only as far as Alvarez, who fired in via the unfortunate Mepham.
Lerma struck a consolation high into the net in the 83rd minute after a pull-back from the left by Zemura, but City ultimately eased to a handsome win.
What does it mean? City remind people what they can do
It has been a strangely inconsistent season for City by their usual standards, though they seemed to have finally taken charge in the Premier League title race when they won 3-1 at Arsenal earlier this month.
A sloppy draw at Forest handed the initiative back to their rivals, but the nature of this demolition of Bournemouth felt ominous.
They looked more like the City that has been posting 90+ points every season, and if they can get back to this kind of showing regularly, Arsenal and Manchester United will certainly have their work cut out.
Another landmark for Haaland
If you can believe it, some people were questioning Haaland after his failure to score against Forest or Leipzig, though his manager blamed his team-mates for not finding him often enough.
He was on the scoresheet again here, and his 27 Premier League goals this season is the most by a City player in a single top-flight campaign since Francis Lee's 33 in 1971-72.
Cherries picked and could drop
Bournemouth earned a much-needed win at Wolves last time out, and while they were never likely to get another against the champions, defeat does mean they fall back into the relegation zone.
That win at Molineux is their only success in their last 11 games in all competitions (D2 L8), and they remain without a win at home since a 3-0 victory against Everton on November 12.
What's next?
It does not get much easier for Bournemouth, who travel to Premier League leaders Arsenal next Saturday, while Man City have a trip to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday before a crunch league clash with Newcastle United.
Fans detained by Czech police after West Ham supporters are attacked in Prague
Czech police have detained several people following a clash between West Ham and Fiorentina fans ahead of the Europa Conference League final in Prague on Wednesday.
The force said Italian fans attacked West Ham fans in a bar in the country’s capital, with three people being left injured as a result.
It was also confirmed a police officer had been attacked during the incident.
Following the clash, 16 people were detained as police “restricted the personal freedom” of those suspected to be involved.
A translation of a Czech police tweet said: “Italy fans attacked West Ham fans in a bar in Rytirska Street, injuring three. One policeman was also attacked. We have restricted the personal freedom of 16 people and we are currently investigating the whole incident.”
Outside the Tek’ila Tek’ila bar in the city centre, a burnt-out chair and broken glass were seen littered across the ground.
One West Ham fan, who did not want to be named, said “a large group” of Italian fans attacked the bar.
“About eight Italians walked past, swinging bands and chains,” he said.
“Five minutes later there was a big group that come down the road and attacked us.”
The man said five West Ham fans were injured.
He said: “Three of our mates (were injured), out of all of this lot there were five. Three of them were our mates. They’ve gone to hospital.”
He added that one of his friends was “quite badly” injured with a “massive cut” on his head.
Videos were also shared on social media appearing to show people throwing chairs at each other in Prague on Wednesday.
Sheffield United release Billy Sharp after promotion to Premier League
Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp will not get the chance to represent his boyhood club in the Premier League again next season after being released.
The 37-year-old, who came through the youth ranks at Bramall Lane, will end his third spell at the club at the conclusion of his current contract, departing having made 377 appearances and scored 129 goals.
He did play 45 times for the Blades last season as they won promotion from the Championship and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but boss Paul Heckingbottom does not think he is worth a new deal in the top flight.
Jack O’Connell and Enda Stevens are also released and will depart the club having played their parts in promotions over the years.
The Blades have exercised the options on contracts for Oliver Norwood, Oliver McBurnie, Wes Foderingham and Ismaila Coulibaly to keep them at the club while negotiations over new deals for John Fleck, Jack Robinson and Ben Osborn are ongoing.
Man City keeper Ederson will not opt for safe option in Champions League final
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson will not change the way he plays for a safer option in the Champions League final.
The Brazil international’s ability with the ball at his feet means he has a key part to play when it comes to the team playing out from the back but when opposition teams press high that style can sometimes lead to greater risk.
But even in a one-off game, where a single mistake can decide the outcome of an entire season’s work, Ederson has no plans to play the percentages against Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday.
“We need to keep playing in the same way that we have been. We can’t change that just because we’re playing in a final,” he said.
“We have to have the personality to play, to have the ball at our feet, to find passes. Of course, making mistakes is part of being a goalkeeper, defender, the whole team.
“We’re all able to make a mistake, whether it comes in the first game of the season or the last, but we have to keep the same personality to play.”
Part of that personality is an ability to remain calm under pressure and not let setbacks derail the game-plan.
Ederson, who finished joint sixth in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Glove – seven behind Manchester United keeper David De Gea’s 17 clean sheets, feels the experience he has gained has given him the tools to cope with every eventuality.
“I think any City keeper needs to be calm, to play with personality,” added Ederson, who at the request of his daughter dyed his hair blue following City’s successful Premier League defence and will do so again if they beat Inter.
View this post on Instagram“There are a lot of teams that try to pressure us, so you need to be calm, get the ball under control and have the vision to find the right pass.
“I remember a game against Tottenham where I misplaced a pass and it led to a goal. I said to my team-mates after ‘You can still pass to me’, because errors are part of the process.
“Errors help us to grow, we learn a lot from mistakes. I mainly learn from errors. You can learn a lot more from making a mistake than you can from doing things right or from winning.
“So I always try to keep calm, to pass this calmness onto my team-mates as well, so that they know that they can play the ball to me and that I’m calm enough to make the right decision.”
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