Manchester City have maintained their place at the top of the Premier League after beating Bournemouth 5-1 in the Premier League.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick in the first half at the Etihad Stadium, while Wilfried Bony netted a brace to secure the victory.

Glenn Murray scored the only goal of the match for the visitors, who have won just one of their five matches away from home so far this season.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action.

Match statistics

Manchester City
Shots: 15
On target: 11
Possession: 54%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 11

Bournemouth
Shots: 5
On target: 1
Possession: 46%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 5

Was the result fair?

Anything other than a Manchester City win would have been a real injustice, the home side were just superb. Manuel Pellegrini's side did benefit from a couple of defensive mix-ups, but they were particularly clinical in the first half before settling into a more relaxed match after the break. Without top scorer Sergio Aguero, who is out with a hamstring injury, the rest of the team really stepped up. The scoreline is not even that flattering, as Kelechi Iheanacho should have had one in stoppage time that was wrongly ruled out for offside, it was a truly dominate display from Man City.

Manchester City's performance

Manchester City showed their intent from kickoff, piling forward early on to open up a 2-0 lead after 11 minutes. Kevin de Bruyne, Jesus Navas and Raheem Sterling did an excellent job making sure Wilfried Bony was not isolated up front, while the back four were superb, ensuring that Joe Hart only faced one on-target show during the 90 minutes. The team did sit back a bit in the second half, safe in the knowledge that the win was already in the bag, but it was an impressive day's work nonetheless.

Bournemouth's performance

Eddie Howe will not be happy with the scoreline, but he cannot be too critical of his side. They were dealt a blow before kickoff when goalkeeper Artur Boruc picked up a knock, resulting in Adam Federici being brought in last minute. The reserve keeper made a few errors in the first half, gifting the hosts a couple of goals, while struggling to communicate with his defenders. Going forward, Bournemouth looked lively, with Eunan O'Kane and Andrew Surman proving a particularly tricky pairing. Despite the scoreline, the visitors never let their heads drop, they just struggled against a solid defence and a rampant attack.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Raheem Sterling: Sterling looked like a man on a mission from the start, resulting in the England international completing a hat-trick inside the first half. It was not just his goalscoring prowess that caught the eye though, as he made countless runs down the wings, provided a number of crosses and constantly seemed to be involved.

Biggest gaffe

There were a couple of absolute howlers from Federici, but the biggest was probably his save to set up Bony's first. Bacary Sagna provided a relatively tame cross from the left, but the keeper chose to punch it rather than go for the cross, practically placing it on the boot of the Ivorian striker, leaving him with the simplest of finishes.

Referee performance

Mike Dean and his assistants got a few calls wrong this afternoon. Bournemouth will feel aggrieved not to have had a penalty in the opening couple of minutes when Nicolas Otamendi clattered into Dan Gosling in the box although in real time it did look like a good tackle, while Kelechi Iheanacho should have had a goal in stoppage time, but the assistant wrongly ruled it out for offside.

What next?

Manchester City: Pellegrini's side are in action at the Etihad again on Wednesday when they host Europa League holders Sevilla in the Champions League.

Bournemouth: Bournemouth head back to Dean Court next weekend, hosting Tottenham Hotspur.