Bournemouth 0-2 Manchester City: Raheem Sterling gives City the lead before Sergio Aguero proves a point as he forces an own goal to close the gap at the top of the Premier League
Manchester City closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to eight points, following their 2-0 victory at Bournemouth.
After Gabriel Jesus had limped off injured, with Sergio Aguero replacing him, the visitors took the lead as Raheem Sterling converted well at the back post to turn in David Silva's deflected cross.
With much scrutiny over his future, Aguero took his chance he put pressure on Tyrone Mings at the near post to force the ball into the net in the second period as City left the south coast with the points.
Raheem Sterling, pictured celebrating with team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, fired Manchester City into a first-half leadThe England international converted at the far post under pressure from Charlie Daniels, from David Silva's crossThe goal was Sterling's eighth strike of the season, and also saw Manchester City clock up 50 Premier League goalsBournemouth thought they had levelled matters immediately, but Josh King was adjudged to have pulled back John StonesSergio Aguero stretched to turn home the second, although the final touch appeared to go in off defender Tyrone MingsSterling (left) and Fernandinho (right) celebrate with Aguero, who has had his City future questioned in recent weeksThe visitors were dealt a blow early on as young Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus was taken off injured in the first halfCity boss Guardiola looked deep in thought as he sat in the away dugout during the warm-ups at the Vitality StadiumHe was later joined by Sergio Aguero, who had to make do with a starting place in the bench for the third straight gameAguero's benching has made way for Gabriel Jesus to start, with City fans already holding the striker in high esteemBournemouth's Charlie Daniels was clearly up for the contest as he let out a roar on his way onto the playing surfaceManchester City captain David Silva plays a pass through midfield while under pressure from Bournemouth's Jack WilshereGuardiola issues instructions to young German winner Leroy Sane during the opening minutes of the Premier League gameYaya Toure was outraged to be shown a yellow card by Neil Swarbrick for a late tackle on Bournemouth's Adam SmithThe departure of Jesus after just 14 minutes of the game meant Aguero was handed an early chance to prove his pointGoalkeeper Willy Caballero had to come flying out to beat Jordon Ibe to the ball as the former Liverpool man broke throughAt the other end, Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc did superbly well to deflect Sterling's effort onto his left-hand postToure came close for Manchester City as he fired a trademark long-range effort inches wide from just outside the boxThey were not to be denied for long, though, as Sterling converted David Silva's cross at the back post to put City aheadSterling celebrates with Sane and Kevin De Bruyne after his goal put Manchester City into the lead on the south coastJosh King thought he had brought Bournemouth level within a minute, but it was ruled out for a pull on John StonesBournemouth suffered an injury problem of their own as Wilshere trudged off with just a few minutes left of the opening halfAguero and Adam Smith battle for possession at the start of the second period, with the Argentine coming out on topManagers Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola give their instructions from the touchline, with the score still at 1-0 after the breakThe second goal came at a crucial time, as Aguero prodded Sterling's super cut-back towards goal with the help of MingsEven though there were doubts over whether the goal was his, Aguero let out a wild roar as it hit the back of the net
