Erling Haaland once again delivered for Manchester City, scoring twice in a commanding 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium. The Norwegian striker moved to within touching distance of 100 Premier League goals as Pep Guardiola’s side climbed to second in the table.
Bournemouth, who had started the day in second place, came into the fixture with quiet ambitions of upsetting the champions. Andoni Iraola’s side have been impressive this season, but their miserable record against City 15 defeats in 16 previous Premier League meetings always hinted at the scale of their task.
The visitors thought they had made a dream start when Eli Kroupi turned in David Brooks’ cross inside the opening minute, only for the flag to go up for offside. From there, City took control, and it was no surprise when Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute, finishing calmly after being played through by Rayan Cherki.
Bournemouth briefly drew level through Tyler Adams, who headed home from a corner his first goal in 73 appearances across all competitions in English football. But Haaland soon restored City’s advantage, again finishing a fine move orchestrated by Cherki, who added a second assist to his growing list of contributions in 2025.
The double took Haaland’s tally to 13 league goals this season. Only Les Ferdinand (1995–96) and Haaland himself (2022–23) have scored as many or more in their side’s opening ten Premier League games. He also became just the third player in the competition’s history to score two or more goals in four consecutive home appearances, joining Luis Suárez and Robbie Fowler in that elite group.
City added a third through Nico O’Reilly, who struck a precise finish into the far corner to seal the points and send Bournemouth down to fourth. The defeat was their first since the opening day of the season.
