Jeremy Doku steals the show as Manchester City crush Bournemouth

The former Rennes protege broke the deadlock in Manchester before laying on another four assists, as Bernardo Silva's brace, Manuel Akanji's first Premier League goal, Phil Foden's strike and Nathan Ake's header rendered Luis Sinisterra's effort meaningless.

With no EFL Cup commitments to take into account in midweek, Man City took the game by the scruff of the neck almost immediately, but Bournemouth's backline initially held out thanks to several strokes of good fortune.

Erling Haaland's first big chance of the afternoon saw the Scandinavian direct a header off of Lloyd Kelly and onto the post in the 22nd minute, but just seven moments later, City's relentless pressure finally told.

Patiently waiting for the right ball in the left-half space, Doku cut inside and played a delicate one-two with Rodri, before carrying on his run through a sea of Cherries shirts and sending a scuffed strike into the far corner.

It took just another four minutes for Doku to make his presence felt again, as the Belgian starlet twisted Chris Mepham inside and out with some nifty footwork before cutting back for Silva, who calmly side-footed the ball into the far corner.

Lightning then struck twice at the Etihad, as another four minutes after Doku's first assist of the day, the 21-year-old played a fundamental role in his side's third of the afternoon, albeit in unorthodox circumstances.

Despite the wealth of bodies in his way, Doku tried his luck from distance, and his strike - which looked to be heading wide - took a nick off the back of Akanji and nestled into the corner for the Swiss defender's first Premier League goal.

While almost everything that could go right did go right for City, Bournemouth's nightmare worsened when Alex Scott hobbled off the field towards the end of the first half, having come off worse in a clash of legs with Rodri.

However, the Cherries were not the only ones suffering physically, as Foden was brought on in place of Haaland to the chagrin of fantasy football managers everywhere, as the Norwegian was seemingly withdrawn as a precaution following a knock towards the end of the opening 45.

The Citizens crowd were then left aghast when Dominic Solanke netted from Ryan Christie's cutback seconds after the restart, but the latter was then penalised for offside, extinguishing a small slice of Bournemouth hope.

Andoni Iraola's side belatedly had some belief running through their veins, though, and Solanke was agonisingly close to breaching Ederson's goal again in the 60th minute, rattling the bar with a fierce drive after being set up by Philip Billing.

City quickly brought their visitors crashing back down to earth, though, and Doku was at the heart of the hosts' fourth in the 64th minute, charging at Max Aarons before laying off Foden, who took a couple of touches before firing a low strike into the back of the net.

A clean sheet would still elude the champions, though, as with 74 minutes gone, Aarons's cross from the right fell for substitute Sinisterra, who had just kept himself onside and gave Kyle Walker the slip before firing in his first Cherries goal.

However, Silva then ensured that Sinisterra's strike would be nothing more than a consolation in the 83rd minute, latching onto Doku's sublime cross-field pass and giving Kelly the slip before chipping the ball over the line; Matheus Nunes made sure, but his compatriot was credited with the goal.

There was time for ex-Bournemouth defender Ake to haunt his former club as well, as five minutes after Silva's second, Oscar Bobb fizzed in a cross from the right-hand side of the box, and the Dutchman dived to head home into the bottom corner.

City's dominant win sees the champions temporarily rise above Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur into first place in the table, while Bournemouth remain 17th thanks to Crystal Palace's win over Burnley.

Tuesday's Champions League visit of BSC Young Boys is next on the calendar for Man City, while Bournemouth have a week to recuperate before they host Newcastle United on September 11.