Jack Grealish wraps up Bournemouth fans as Man City go wild at Vitality Stadium

Jack Grealish took the opportunity to liquidate a group of Bournemouth fans in the closing stages of Manchester City's big win over the Cherries on Saturday night. The reigning Premier League champions needed to claim all three points at the Vitality Stadium to stay within touching distance of table players Arsenal and duly delivered with an impressive team performance on the south coast.

Julian Alvarez put City ahead after just 15 minutes before Erling Haaland and Phil Foden found the back of the net to give the visitors some breathing room before the half-time whistle. An own goal from Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham after the interval dashed any hopes of a stunning comeback for the hosts, who were firmly second for the vast majority of the competition to highlight the class divide between the two clubs .

Grealish, who was selected to start on the left flank for City, was clearly in a jubilant mood as the clock ticked on and found a moment to get some Bournemouth fans excited with a cheeky directed hand gesture to the Cherries. faithful. He turned to the stands and held up four fingers with one hand while making a circle with the other to remind them of the score while smiling smugly at a group of supporters behind the goal.

Bournemouth then fought back with just seven minutes to play as Jefferson Lerma managed to grab a late consolation but it was too little, too late for the hosts, who came away empty-handed after letting City run wild thanks to a huge dominating performance from Pep Guardiola's men.

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The result saw City move within two points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, although the Gunners still have a game in hand against last season's English champions. It also brought Bournemouth closer to a return to the Championship at the end of the campaign, with the Cherries just one place and three points above bottom-dwellers Southampton.

It remains to be seen whether City can overtake Arsenal before the end of the campaign, with their players eyeing a third Premier League triumph in as many seasons after beating the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month. It will be crucial for them to avoid dropping easy points as the run-in begins to take shape and Saturday's victory over Bournemouth will certainly have helped calm the nerves in the dressing room after being held by RB Leipzig in the Champions League in middle of the week.

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City defender Rico Lewis was delighted with his side's response after the full-time whistle at the Vitality Stadium and said: "The best thing you can do to come back after a few bad results is to win. We are disgusted not to have a clean sheet but it sends a message, the first goal set the tone and we could have had more at the end."

City had a chance to overtake Arsenal and regain the lead in the Premier League...