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.
Juventus and Pogba agree to terminate contract
Juventus and Paul Pogba have agreed to the mutual termination of the midfielder's contract after he was banned over a failed drugs test.
The 31-year-old will complete his suspension in March after testing positive for DHEA in September 2023, a banned substance that boosts testosterone levels.
He was initially banned for four years, only for his punishment to be reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in October.
Despite that reduction, Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli recently cast doubt on Pogba's chances of representing the Bianconeri again, and he has now been released by the club.
Pogba had a contract with Juventus to run until June 2026, but he will now train in Miami in the hope of finding a new club before his suspension ends.
"The club wishes Paul all the best for his professional future," Juventus said in a statement.
Pogba added in a statement of his own: "It has been a privilege to pull on the shirt of the Bianconeri and to share so many special moments together.
"I cherish the memories we made. They live on.
"Even in the most difficult moments over the past year, your support was crucial and I want to thank Juve fans around the world for their compassion.
"I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career and to stepping out on the pitch with my next club."
Injuries limited Pogba to just 162 minutes in five appearances across the 2022-23 season, his first campaign back in Turin after leaving Manchester United.
He then played a total of 51 minutes as a substitute before being suspended last season, reportedly agreeing to take a substantial pay cut while ineligible to represent the club.
New Man Utd boss Amorim says he must win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said he will need to win matches in order to earn time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details.
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity."
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United debut.
But the former Portugal international added that having a young squad will not be an excuse if he fails to get the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
New Manchester United boss Amorim says he needs to win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said that he will need to win matches in order to win time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details."
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity," he said.
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United managerial debut.
But the former Portugal international also added that having a young squad will not be an excuse for not getting the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
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