ALL THOSE sages who suggested that Raheem Sterling should stay at Liverpool to develop properly as a player under Brendan Rodgers — Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, John Barnes and Matt Le Tissier to name but four — were already starting to look a little silly before the whippet scored the first hat-trick of his career here at the Etihad.
Sterling might have equalled the five goals struck by Sergio Aguero in City’s last home game against Newcastle United had he not been taken off late in the second half as City eased up, when at one point it looked like they might post a rugby score.
City’s fans have now been treated to 11 goals in their last two Premier League games, when on any other day the main talking point could have been the presence of Vincent Kompany on the bench when he had played for Belgium against Israel against the club’s wishes.
The Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe, would no doubt love to have the luxury of delivering a slap on the wrist to his captain, but the south coast club’s injury crisis only deepened 20 minutes before the game when their goalkeeper Artur Boruc cried off with a thigh injury. While his replacement Adam Federici pulled off a couple of great saves, he also was responsible for some poor decision-making which twice cost Bournemouth, but the 10 men in front of him had no answer to City and Sterling in particular.
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“It was important for Raheem to score three goals in this game as he needs to improve his finishing,” Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, said. “He did it today. He is a very young player and he will continue to improve. I don’t think Raheem is a striker like Aguero or Bony but he is an offensive player who must improve his finishing. I am sure he will score more goals this season than if he had played another season for Liverpool.”
It was a marked contrast to the Newcastle game when Sterling started on the left and was withdrawn at half time. This time Pellegrini played him close to Bony in the centre, with Kevin De Bruyne to his left and in inspired form also. It took City only six minutes to score. Fernandinho, with all the time in the world, played a chipped ball to the far post where Bony had made a run, but no City player had anticipated the forward’s cross into the six-yard area and it looked like a great chance was wasted. However De Bruyne coolly recycled the ball at the far side and fed Fernandinho. Again Fernandinho crossed to the far post, this time Paolo Zabaleta crossed the ball in with his head, Bony flicked the ball on and Sterling pounced for his first goal with a close-range tap in. With Bournemouth unable to string more than few passes together before being swamped, the second goal wasn’t long in coming.
De Bruyne set up the overlapping Bacary Sagna, whose low cross looked too close to the goalkeeper to worry the Bournemouth defence. However, Federici spilled his attempt to collect the ball and Bony was alert to the chance, mercilessly flicking the ball away from the keeper, before he stroked it into the net. Bournemouth looked like they had got back in the game on 22 minutes.
There was more than a hint of City complacency when the centre-half Eliaquim Mangala gave the ball away and Andrew Surman found Eunan O’Kane with a crisp pass. O’Kane instantly moved the ball on to Murray, who took advantage of Mangala taking a couple of steps back to find space for his low shot, which flew past Joe Hart.
But Sterling then produced a run and finish which few other players in the Premier League could match. A brilliant through ball by De Bruyne allowed Sterling in behind the Bournemouth centre-half Steve Cook. Sterling then produced two dummies which had Cook and Sylvain Distin on their backsides before he shot past Federici.
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Shortly before half time he had his hat-trick. A long clearance by Hart split the Bournemouth defence. Navas darted in from the right and took the ball away from the hesitant Surman, with Federici also caught outside his box in no-man’s land.
It looked like Navas was bound to score himself but he was determined to get the ball onto his right foot and by the time he did so Federici had recovered to make the save, but that only delayed the agony for the Bournemouth fans massed over three tiers behind the goal as they watched Sterling coolly slide in the rebound.
With Seville sure to provide a more severe test on Wednesday in the Champions League at the Etihad, Pellegrini was able to withdraw three key players, Yaya Toure, De Bruyne and Sterling well before the end of the game with City out of sight.
They took their pedal off the accelerator in the second half but still added a fifth on the 89th minute when Navas teed up Bony, who used his strength to turn the defender and took his second goal neatly.
Star man: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
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Manchester City: Hart 6, Zabaleta 7, Otamendi 6, Mangala 6, Sagna 6, Fernandinho 7, Toure 6 (Fernando 45min, 7), Navas 7, Sterling 9 ((Iheanacho 78min, 7), De Bruyne 8 (Nasri 62min, 5), Bony 7
Bournemouth: Federici 4, Francis 5, Cook 5, Distin 5, Daniels 5, Smith 5 (Pugh 78min, 5), O’Kane 5 (MacDonald 65min, 5), Surman 5, Gosling 5, Ritchie 5, Murray 6 (King 74min, 6)