Foden stars as Manchester City revel in one of those easy games the Premier League doesn’t have

There are no easy games in the Premier League. Apart from all the easy ones.

It’s glib, but while last week’s potentially costly 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest was a reminder that you can never be entirely sure any game will be easy, if you’re Manchester City or anyone else half decent then lots of games do turn out to be very easy indeed.

And there are few safer bets in the “will this game be easy?” canon than Manchester City playing Bournemouth. That’s played 12, won 12 for City against Bournemouth in the Premier League and for barely a single solitary second was this result in any kind of doubt.

It was entirely welcome for Pep Guardiola, whose side have unconvincingly hauled themselves back into the title race over recent weeks but have laboured to do so. This was all marvellously serene, with a four-goal lead in place shortly after half-time in a game played at something close to walking pace from that moment on as City opted for energy conservation and Bournemouth for damage limitation.

This was not a football match from which to draw too many firm conclusions. Bournemouth were poor enough to heighten existing concerns that relegation is the likeliest outcome for them this season, yet showed just about enough spirit despite the game being long lost to make you think they might still have some sort of chance. City beat a team they ought to (and do) beat to end a challenging week on a good note. They’ll do precisely the same thing a good few times yet before the season is out, whether their finishing position is first or second. Or third.

The good news for Guardiola did extend beyond the result and lack of endeavour required to achieve it, though. Phil Foden back to looking something like the pre-World Cup version was perhaps the most significant. It’s been a trying period for Foden, and while he was presented with the chance to score the third goal just before half-time by the generosity of Philip Billing, the manner in which he accepted the gift was still pleasing.

His assist for Erling Haaland’s customary goal – a 27th in the Premier League to take him past Sergio Aguero’s best ever league season for City – was smartly done too, but it was his all-round play that will delight Guardiola.

This was the Foden we want to see, buzzing around and this evening taking on the role of chief creator in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, whose relegation to the bench here proved unsurprisingly less costly than it did a few weeks ago at…