Manchester City knew they were going to have to be at their very best to get the better of a stern AFC Bournemouth side at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Thankfully, the usual suspects Pep Guardiola knows he can depend on shone once more, as Erling Haaland picked up yet another brace in City's sky blue, to take his Premier League goal tally for the season up to an untouchable 13 strikes, from just ten clashes, to also steer the hosts to a convincing 3-1 victory.
Erling-Haaland-1
The superhuman striker is already up to a mind-boggling 25 goals for club and country this campaign, with Guardiola understandably jubilant at the full-time whistle, as the Norwegian's lethal edge proved to be the crucial difference maker.
But, he wasn't the only unstoppable attacker that caught the eye against the Cherries, as Rayan Cherki also effortlessly went about his business, as a perfect teammate for the deadly number nine to bounce off of.
Cherki's standout performance vs Bournemouth
Even before the match had gotten underway, the former Lyon playmaker was being spoken about in glowing terms, with Sky Sports' Izzy Christiansen labelling him as a "player of the highest quality."
He lived up to his lofty post-match billing with a stylish showing against Andoni Iraola's men, as the hard-to-read Frenchman followed up the goal and assist he had collected against Swansea City, with two assists versus the Cherries to bump up Haaland's ever-growing goal count in England.
Cherki would get the ball rolling for City when using his head to play Haaland in after 16 minutes, while his second assist of the night would see him catch the South Coast side's defence out with an intricate pass, before City's lethal number nine unsurprisingly fired home.
Managing to win 100% of his tackles, too, to show off some levels of grit in his varied game, Cherki will surely be retained now for Guardiola and Co.'s difficult match-up in the Champions League on Wednesday night against Borussia Dortmund, with a hope he can unlock the Black and Yellow's defence in a similar manner to his standout showing against Bournemouth.
Man-City
One of the possible hurdles stopping Cherki from becoming a recognised first-teamer, though, is his recurring injury problems, as a different teammate in the middle of the park now also prepares to become a key first-team face week in, week out, too, after putting in another formidable showing centrally.
The 8/10 star who is now as undroppable as Haaland
It could be argued, too, that the number ten faded out of the contest somewhat after his breakneck assists were tallied up.
On the other hand, Nico Gonzalez was full-blooded throughout as City's main man centrally, as Tijjani Reijnders had to sit out the clash on the bench through injury.
Gonzalez's performance in numbers
Stat
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches
Accurate passes
Tackles won
Interceptions
Blocked shots
Ball recoveries
Total duels won
Stats by Sofascore
On just his sixth start for City in the Premier League this season, Gonzalez put in - arguably - his best display of the season to date, with a high eight ball recoveries won and four duels being won, also being matched by the ex-Porto star rarely giving the ball away, having ended the match with a high 90% pass accuracy still intact.
Bournemouth would fail to mount a comeback courtesy of the Spaniard remaining switched on throughout; therefore, with Cherki only winning 30% of his duels, in contrast, while also coming in with a lower 85% pass accuracy, despite teeing up Haaland for two goals, per Sofascore.
Nico-Gonzalez
The aforementioned Reijnders has also struggled, recently, to be that Rodri-type figure City desperately desire as their talisman remains out injured, meaning Gonzalez could now be seen as a key part of the starting jigsaw that Guardiola relies on, much like the 54-year-old is heavily dependent on his unerring Scandinavian, still, to lead the line with venom.
Manchester Evening News journalist Simon Bajkowski would reward the 23-year-old's impressive night with a high 8/10 post-match rating, with the steady midfield presence noted as bringing a needed sense of "calm and authority" to proceedings in the second 45 minutes, as the game ticked down to its conclusion.
This 3-1 win pushes City up to second in the early league standings, with Guardiola well aware that it's going to take an unbelievable team effort to catch Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, with Gonzalez hopeful he can be of use, next to Haaland, in the long run, after his assured, yet forceful display at the Etihad.