V Bournemouth

[gavin]

Another great performance. We are scarily good at times. Is it becoming realistic to expect that we can carry on like this throughout most of the season? I bloody hope so. De Bruyne and Sterling were awesome, Nacho deadly as always. Otamendi had an off day. It is just amazing to be a City fan at the moment. We play beautiful football and it is very effective.

[Neil Mcnab]

Hoping it continues. Clever managers should be able to come up with ways to negate our play. Really looking forward to playing the filthy koppites. Barcelona of course. I think only the best will test us this season.

KDB, Kun, Silva and Dinho would be consistently very good or better in any team. Pep is bringing the best out of the rest. Sterling is looking better than when he was with the dippers. Sane and Gundogan are being eased in. What about a healthy Kompany. We    should improve. 

[gavin]

Bournemouth was until now the best team - (they) could create more problems with the ball. The other teams play long balls.

lol nice one pep

[zacc]

and you can see they're loving what they're doing.

[clevblue]

We're all loving it. I hope Barca weren't watching, haha

I liked the bit in the second half when Raheem took on 5players across the middle and won, shame he didn't score, very close though

[The Blue Blooded Maniac]

Kevin's assist for the fourth was erotic!!!!

[nimrod]

lol nice one pep

Seems like pep is starting to have a few digs at moaninho

First this and then stating KDB is second only to Messi

Vieled digs both of them

[gavin]

How is saying that KDB is second to Messi a veiled dig at Mourinho?

[nimrod]

How is saying that KDB is second to Messi a veiled dig at Mourinho?

Treated him like shit at chavski then sold  him, a bit embarrasing

[Ludo]

He's untouchable at the minute.

Over the last few seasons, if we'd played a match without Segio, Silva, Kompany, Hart and Yaya we'd have struggled, but now... no problem.

[gavin]

It does seem that we have that many quality players now we can manage with injuries comfortably. But it is still early days, I'm trying not to get too carried away. Difficult though.

[zacc]

Pep had a strategy about minimising injury by changing the diet so players are not over weight which makes it more like
body will be injured more easily. Looks like something they wanted to eradicate from the off this season. 
This with more equally skillful players to cover same position to rotate already Silva gets a rest which must help him.

[Rowley Birkin QC]

I don't know what Pep says to these players but the effect is very evident in some cases. Anyone noticed how Sterling stays on his feet now? He's more relaxed and not so frightened of failure. If something doesn't come off for him or he loses a contest his first instinct isn't to hit the turf anymore. He just turns around, resets - and goes again. Looks a very dangerous young player now, and he's getting the rewards.

Meanwhile our youth set-up has finally coughed up gold in Iheanacho. He sometimes cut an isolated figure last season - a bit of an outsider. But apply 'The Pep Effect' and we now have a very confident and engaged looking young man. He gave an interesting post match interview - all about "training hard with my teammates". 

De Bruyne was just simply wonderful.

Nolito deserved to go, although it looked like he was seriously provoked. However, he brought it on himself somewhat. Nolito looks a great player but I noticed he has a nasty little habit of leaving his foot in and he'd done so several times during the match on Smith, Wilson and Wilshere. Someone (probably Pep!) needs to have a quiet word. No use to us off the pitch. Mind you, how Smith avoided joining him for an early bath with a second yellow for the face palm on Iheanacho was beyond me. I wonder if the post match review lot will look as closely at that as they did at Aguero's elbow...? (Yeah, I know - probably not)