Sterling has now scored in each of his six City appearances against Bournemouth
Manchester City had to work hard to see off a determined Bournemouth side before Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan secured the win that sends them five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
City's victory maintains their 100% home record in the league this season, with eight wins out of eight, but this latest triumph was not as straightforward as the scoreline might suggest.
All seemed to be going to plan for Pep Guardiola's side when Bernardo Silva smashed them ahead early on, with the Portuguese midfielder following up after Asmir Begovic had denied Leroy Sane.
But the home side, with David Silva on the bench and top scorer Sergio Aguero absent altogether after he complained of a muscle discomfort, relaxed a little too much before half-time and were deservedly punished.
To the displeasure of the home fans, the Cherries were given far too much time and space to build outside the box and Simon Francis swung in a perfect cross for Callum Wilson to rise and head home.
Bournemouth threatened again after half-time when King's looping cross almost dropped in at the far post, while City looked surprisingly short of urgency or inspiration.
It was Sterling who supplied the spark they were missing, to continue his remarkable run of scoring against the Cherries.
The England forward followed up after Begovic could only parry Danilo's low shot and Nathan Ake failed to clear, firing into the roof of the net for his 10th goal in seven games against the Cherries.
Bournemouth, looking to avoid a fourth successive defeat, did not lie down and some dangerous balls into the box ensured some nervous moments for the Etihad faithful.
It took Gundogan's close-range finish to make sure of the points with 11 minutes remaining, with the impressive Sane providing the assist with a precise pull-back.
More to follow.
-
Relive Manchester v Bournemouth
Reaction to all of Saturday's Premier League games
-
Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Man City
31Ederson
3Danilo
30Otamendi
14Laporte
35ZinchenkoSubstituted forDelphat 54'minutes
20Bernardo SilvaSubstituted forMahrezat 87'minutes
25Fernandinho
8Gündogan
7Sterling
33Gabriel JesusSubstituted forSilvaat 77'minutes
19Sané
Substitutes
2Walker
4Kompany
18Delph
21Silva
26Mahrez
47Foden
49Muric
Bournemouth
27Begovic
2Francis
3S Cook
5Aké
26Mings
11Daniels
17KingSubstituted forStanislasat 85'minutes
16L Cook
6Surman
24FraserSubstituted forBrooksat 72'minutes
13WilsonSubstituted forMoussetat 85'minutes
Substitutes
1Boruc
9Mousset
18Defoe
19Stanislas
20Brooks
21Rico
25Simpson
Referee:
Stuart Attwell
Attendance:
54,409
Match Stats
Home TeamMan CityAway TeamBournemouth
Possession
Home73%
Away27%
Shots
Home16
Away4
Shots on Target
Home6
Away1
Corners
Home8
Away4
Fouls
Home9
Away3
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Manchester City 3, Bournemouth 1.
Full TimePosted at 90'+4'
Second Half ends, Manchester City 3, Bournemouth 1.
Posted at 90'+1'
Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Danilo.
Posted at 90'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.
Posted at 88'
Offside, Bournemouth. David Brooks tries a through ball, but Simon Francis is caught offside.
SubstitutionPosted at 87'
Substitution, Manchester City. Riyad Mahrez replaces Bernardo Silva.
Posted at 87'
Foul by Danilo (Manchester City).
Posted at 87'
Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 86'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Charlie Daniels.
Posted at 86'
Attempt blocked. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan with a cross.
SubstitutionPosted at 85'
Substitution, Bournemouth. Lys Mousset replaces Callum Wilson.
SubstitutionPosted at 85'
Substitution, Bournemouth. Junior Stanislas replaces Joshua King.
Posted at 85'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Asmir Begovic.
Posted at 85'
Attempt saved. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Aymeric Laporte.
Goal!Posted at 79'
Goal! Manchester City 3, Bournemouth 1. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Leroy Sané following a corner.
Posted at 79'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Steve Cook.
Posted at 78'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Steve Cook.
SubstitutionPosted at 77'
Substitution, Manchester City. David Silva replaces Gabriel Jesus.
Posted at 76'
Attempt missed. Steve Cook (Bournemouth) left footed shot from long range on the right misses to the left.
Posted at 75'
Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Aymeric Laporte.
Posted at 73'
Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Nicolás Otamendi.
SubstitutionPosted at 72'
Substitution, Bournemouth. David Brooks replaces Ryan Fraser.
Posted at 68'
Attempt missed. Fernandinho (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Posted at 67'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Asmir Begovic.
Posted at 66'
Attempt saved. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan with a cross.
Posted at 66'
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at 66'
Foul by Joshua King (Bournemouth).
Posted at 63'
Foul by Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City).
Posted at 63'
Simon Francis (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 62'
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.
Posted at 62'
Attempt blocked. Danilo (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bernardo Silva.
Posted at 58'
Foul by Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City).
Posted at 58'
Nathan Aké (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!Posted at 57'
Goal! Manchester City 2, Bournemouth 1. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the top right corner.
Posted at 57'
Attempt saved. Danilo (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Posted at 55'
Foul by Danilo (Manchester City).
Posted at 55'
Joshua King (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
SubstitutionPosted at 54'
Substitution, Manchester City. Fabian Delph replaces Oleksandr Zinchenko because of an injury.
Posted at 54'
Attempt blocked. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) right footed shot from very close range is blocked.
Posted at 53'
Attempt blocked. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nicolás Otamendi.
Show more updates
goal
Source: bbc.com