Premier League 2018-19: 3 takeaways from Manchester City's 3-1 win over Bournemouth

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side is by far the best team in the land, and seems well on its way to successfully defend the Premier League title. Along with Liverpool, City are also unbeaten in the league so far this season.

On the other hand, after a bright start to the campaign, Eddie Howe's Bournemouth side was staring at a fourth defeat in a row. The match-up was far from balanced, to say the least.

Manchester City were on the front foot right from the word go, and it looked like a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. After a quarter of an hour Bernardo Silva gave Guardiola's side the lead with an instinctively taken shot past the goalkeeper.

As the half progressed, Bournemouth got more involved into the game and deservedly got their equalizer just before the halftime through Callum Wilson.

The onus was on City in the second half, and they got back their lead after Raheem Sterling tapped home from a close range 10 minutes in. Guardiola's side then started looking dominant, with Sane repeatedly teasing the Bournemouth's defense from the right flank.

The game was finally put to bed after Gundogan headed home from Sane's cross to give all three points to Manchester City. Here are the three takeaways from the match.

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#3 Nine wins in a row for Pep Guardiola

Guardiola is leaving a legacy in the Premier League

Before the start of the season, there were doubts whether Manchester City could be the first team in a decade to successfully defend the Premier League title. But Guardiola has previously won back-two-back leagues title wherever he has managed, and he seems determined to repeat the success here as well.

In the current campaign, City are already the pace-setters for the rest of the league, with Liverpool looking like the only team who can take the title race to the very end. The Citizens are yet to drop a point at home, and today was another dominating display.

City have now gone 14 games unbeaten in the league, which is a record in itself for them.

#2 Losing streak continues for Bournemouth

Wilson scored for the Cherries

Bournemouth have been the surprise package this campaign. This time last season, they were fighting for relegation, but now they are in the top half in the league. Eddie Howe has been widely praised for his side's free-flowing football and never-give-up attitude.

Not many teams have managed to take the game to Manchester City at the Etihad, but the Cherries gave a good account of themselves in the first half, scoring through Callum Wilson. However, it was a different ball game altogether in the second half; City went into top gear and completely disrupted the shape of Bournemouth's defense.

This is Howe's fourth consecutive defeat in the league, which has taken the shine off a rather impressive start to the campaign. However, the manager should be proud with the way his team played against City. Even at 3-1 down, the Cherries put bodies forward in the hope of a comeback, although nothing resulted out of it.

#1 Dominating second-half display from Manchester City

Leroy Sane was impressive for Manchester City.

The Etihad stadium is a fortress for Manchester City. For an opposition team, it's a nightmare to come here and try to contain the home side for 90 minutes.

Bournemouth have been one of the standout teams this season, but they also faced the wrath of City attack this afternoon.

It didn't take long for Guardiola's side to grab the initiative, as they took the lead in the first quarter of the game. Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva were the two best players for City in the first half; Sane was the creator for Silva's opening goal.

However, the home side went off the boil after that goal, allowing the Cherries to come back into the match.

The second half was completely different as City went on a rampage with Raheem Sterling leading the charge. The England international made darting runs into the box and rightly got his goal from a rebound.

It was Ikay Gundogan who ensured all three points for Manchester City from a Leroy Sane cross late in the game.