Foden gives scary reminder
It feels like Phil Foden has barely had a kick this season, having been around the squad for ages. Bournemouth delivered a check to those narratives with the 22-year-old becoming the fourth-youngest player in the club's history to net 200 appearances.
It doesn't guarantee that he will start every game for the rest of the campaign, but is a handy reminder of the young-yet-experienced talent that the Blues are still to see the best of. If he can continue anything like this level of display, we will see a lot more of him over the rest of the campaign.
The goal was as clinical as he wasn't at Forest last week, pouncing on a Bournemouth error to take him to 10 for the season in all competitions and his first in the league since Brentford before the World Cup. And the trouble that his pace and directness gave the opposition all match was even more impressive.
Also read: Man City silence critics three times in 45 minutes at Bournemouth
Even if Guardiola still doesn't think he has the patience required in some games, there are many, many matches that will suit.
Lewis earns fan acclaim
This was the first start for Rico Lewis since the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham at the beginning of the month. There, Spurs intercepted Rodri's pass for Lewis to score the only goal of the game and it also felt as though the home side were content with the rookie being in possession, banking that he wouldn't hurt them.
At the Vitality, there were more signs of the bolder Lewis that played so well at Elland Road in December as he was more assertive in all of his play. As well as making the right decisions that Guardiola likes, the aggression took Lewis's game up a notch.
It was crucial to the first goal, the 18-year-old sliding in ahead of Jordan Zemura to win back possession in a move that ended with Julian Alvarez slapping the ball in the back of the net. Towards the end of the first half, Dominic Solanke had fooled both Ruben Dias and Manu Akanji with one roll of his boot before Lewis hoofed the ball clear of the box.
A minute later, he earned a foul from Zemura that allowed the visitors to take the sting out of the game. The away supporters spent plenty of time signing about famous names from their past and present, and the chants of Rico that came down at that point will surely be heard plenty of times in the future.
Gomez in midfield
Sergio Gomez and Kalvin Phillips both came on in the second half to get vital minutes in their legs and give a rest to some of City's busiest stars. If that wasn't notable enough, Gomez spent all of his time closer to Phillips than he did the left-back spot as Nathan Ake stayed there for the entire game.
Since that disastrous outing at Southampton in the League Cup, it has seemed clear that serious work is needed if Gomez can be trained up to be a left-back that Guardiola can trust. However, his skill on the ball means that there may be a way of giving him minutes and keeping the squad fresh without giving the opposition an obvious weak point in the defence.
Title race calm
After all the moving in recent weeks, it felt like a breather for the top two to both win their games in the Premier League title race. Arsenal picked up a 1-0 win at Leicester, and City followed that up with this win at Bournemouth.
That keeps Arsenal two points clear with a game in hand, although also keeps City roughly where they want to be at this stage of the season - especially given they still have to play the Gunners at home.
READ NEXT
