IF there is any consolation to take from Cherries' 4-0 defeat at Manchester City, it is that they are extremely unlikely to run into a team as good as Pep Guardiola's again this season.

For all the away team's organisation - Eddie Howe set Cherries up with one up top and five players strung across midfield - and unquestioned industry, City were simply rampant.

So much so that when Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring on the quarter-hour the game already appeared to be up for the visitors. There was no doubting that fact when Kelechi Iheanacho scored the second with 25 minutes on the clock. By the time Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan had added second-half strikes, Cherries' primary concern was getting out of the Etihad Stadium with pride intact. And they did.

It took City all of 10 seconds to fire their first shot on target. Iheanacho forced Simon Francis into conceding possession in his own half, enabling the alert De Bruyne to drive forward and unleash a swerving shot that Artur Boruc clawed away to his left.

Regardless of their chastening start, Cherries were intent on sticking to their principles in the face of the home team's relentless pressing, Howe's men primarily seeking to work their way forward through midfield.

It was that tactic, however, which allowed Fernandinho to hound Junior Stanislas off the ball, Iheanacho this time the beneficiary of a team-mates's hard work but seeing his driven effort deflected behind off Steve Cook.

Cherries' limited joy was almost exclusively being found down their left, in particular through lone frontman Josh King running in behind Bacary Sagna. The striker took this route to latch onto Charlie Daniels' 10th minute ball forward and charge into the box, where he was thwarted at the byline by the sliding Nicolas Otamendi.

In quick time the ball was at the other end of the field, Gael Clichy's left-wing delivery flying across the six-yard box and narrowly evading a fast approaching Iheanacho

For all of City's bright, progressive football - of which there was plenty - Cherries' 15th minute undoing was somewhat of their own making. Jack Wilshere, on his first start for the club and trying to make amends after being dispossessed by Fernandinho, felled Nolito at the edge of the area. De Bruyne, rather facilely did the rest. The Belgian struck a low free-kick down the centre of goal, foiling a tardy Cherries' defensive wall and utterly defeating Boruc in goal.

Boruc did rather better when De Bruyne, a deadly mix of perpetual motion and superior intelligence, fed Nolito to shoot from the left side of the box. The ex-Barcelona player tried to find the far corner, but instead located only the gloves of the goalkeeper, diving to his left.

Cherries No 1 was having a busy time of it, next being unable to convincingly claim Sterling's cross from the right and grateful to see the ball hacked away from in front of Gundogan.

But the visitors' relief was short-lived. Within a minute of Otamendi scything down Harry Arter, for the concession of a free-kick and a yellow card, the ball was in the back of Cherries' net.

Jordon Ibe's dead ball was cleared from the area... and City were away. Nolito switched play to De Bruyne, who shifted the ball on to Sterling. The England man hared away down the right to square for Iheanacho, Off balance and with the ball slightly behind him, the 19-year-old adjusted his body to force home with his left foot.

The away team flickered briefly as an attacking force, when Ibe collected a pass from Francis and, via an exchange of passes with Wilshere, burrowed forward. The winger squared for King but with City keeper Claudio Bravo stranded, Sagna stopped the attacker getting a strike away.

And normal service was promptly resumed. Another Clichy centre after the left back had robbed Ibe and broken forward ran out of Iheanacho's reach, before Boruc had to scramble to his right to push away an Aleksandar Koloraov strike from distance

And with the interval approaching Sterling applied all of his strength, balance and skill into dribbling through Wilshere, Andrew Surman and Francis, before running onto a return from pass from Iheanacho and drilling a low effort that was beaten away by Boruc.

Howe replaced Ibe with Callum Wilson at half-time. And the manager swiftly saw Stanislas get his feet in a muddle when presented with a shooting opportunity from Daniels' cut-back.

If they rued passing up that half chance, Cherries would soon be in full navel-gazing mode. Iheanacho swooped onto an innocuous clearance down the left and put his foot to the floor. Trading passes with De Bruyne the Nigerian progressed into the box to lift the ball over Boruc and to the back post where Sterling applied the finishing touch.

Another City raid ended with Cook deflecting Gundogan's effort wide of the post, with that escape sandwiched by a pair of Boruc saves from De Bruyne - the first a stop from the attacker's free-kick, the second a sharp low block after £54million man had stolen possession from Adam Smith to scurry forward and shoot.

Bravo finally had his gloves stung on 56 minutes, when Wilson received Wilshere's pass to gallop forward and get hold of a shot City's high-profile new No 1 clutched to his midriff.

But back came the hosts again, Sterling's 20-yard drive clipping a Cherries' body on its way over. The revitalised former Liverpool man next took it upon himself to run right to left, strong-arming his way past Daniels and then a collection of defensive bodies unwilling to challenge in the area. At the moment of execution, however, Sterling was met by Boruc, smothering at the attacker's feet and forcing him to direct his effort onto an upright.

The keeper was helpless in the face of the rampant hosts next attack, though. Nolito's cute reverse pass was swooped on by the ubiquitous De Bruyne, whose delicious slide rule delivery was given the finish it deserved by Gundogan. The German drew Boruc, before effortlessly clipping the ball up and over the diving keeper.

Arter gamely tried to respond, carrying the ball 20 yards to crack a shot that cannoned behind off substitute John Stones. And Cherries continued to break whenever opportunity allowed. Wilson hit the bar from 12 yards after good work by Smith down the right, while Arter sent a 20-yard effort skipping a fraction past Bravo's left-hand post.

The only black mark on City's day came when the previously exceptional Nolito inexplicably thrust his head in Smith's direction after the pair had become embroiled in a coming together. The Spaniard was rightly dismissed, with Smith picking up a caution for his part in affairs.

Wilson had one last go at leaving his side something tangible by which to remember the day, but the forward's adventurous foray was ended by covering substitute Aleix Garcia Serrano.

There would be no consolation for Cherries, then. Other than the fact they won't run into this mob again for a while.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Bravo; Sagna, Otamendi (Stones 52), Kolarov, Clichy; Fernandinho, Gundogan (Sane 72); Sterling, De Bruyne (Garcia Serrano 75), Nolito; Iheanacho

Subs not used: Kompany, Zabaleta, Navas, Caballero (gk)

Bookings: Otamendi

Sent off: Nolito

Cherries: (4-1-4-1) Boruc; Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels; Surman; Ibe (Wilson, 46), Arter, Wilshere (Gosling 68), Stanislas (Gradel 74); King

Subs not used: Ake, Afobe, Smith, Federici (gk)

Bookings: Smith

Referee: Jonathan Moss (West Yorkshire)

Attendance: 53,335