There were periods when this was actually awkward. Manchester City even looked flustered at times, stretched defensively by Bournemouth’s urgency and admirable refusal to wilt. And yet Pep Guardiola’s side still negotiated passage to another victory with all the panache of seasoned champions and with David Silva, physically dwarfed by the home side’s central midfield, untouchable at the heart of so much of their play.

The Spaniard retired at the end to a handshake from his manager having barely broken into a sweat, his 400th City appearance decorated with dashes of brilliance in the buildup to two of the visitors’ goals. He may not have the stamina of old, with the management and medical staff managing his schedule cannily, but even now so many struggle to quell the threat posed by the 33-year-old when he infiltrates any hint of space in front of an opposition backline. He has suggested this will be his last campaign in English football. This was a reminder of what City will lose when he departs upon the expiry of his contract next summer.

Philip Billing and Jefferson Lerma did their best to impose some authority in central areas, but the playmaker flitted elusively between the man-mountains in possession, spying his next few passes while his markers huffed and puffed and stamped down on thin air. “In this kind of game, against a defence so deep and with such few spaces, David is so good,” said Guardiola, aware that opponents must be just as perturbed to see Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva gliding at them. “He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. [Bournemouth] set up so deep, 5-4-1, long balls to [Joshua] King, [Callum] Wilson. They are stronger than us in both boxes. But the quality of our players in front made the difference.”

On the occasions City summoned their upbeat tempo, they were irrepressible. To thrill at so much of the attacking football this team can deliver is also to despair for virtually every other side in the division, so it seemed almost unfair they should force their way ahead here with a goal that owed something to fortune. De Bruyne scuffed his shot from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s centre only for the ball to fall kindly for Sergio Agüero to cushion and convert. At first the Belgian’s mistimed effort had felt like a smudge on a normally pristine build-up though, perhaps, it was better to marvel at Agüero’s anticipation, touch and finish.

Harry Wilson, on loan at Bournemouth from Liverpool, bent a sublime free-kick into the top corner just before half-time. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

More trademark was the manner in which they sliced through a Bournemouth team still readjusting to the cruel loss of Charlie Daniels to a serious knee injury – the defender, who underwent surgery on his other knee towards the end of last season, departed on a stretcher and watched the latter stages on crutches – just before the interval. There was Aymeric Laporte’s gloriously pinged cross-field ball to Bernardo Silva, then David Silva’s slipped pass for Raheem Sterling to score for the 11th time against these opponents. Others might have withered in the face of such majesty. It was to the home side’s credit that they still found a means to unsettle the champions.

Bournemouth are saddled with a dreadful record against City but, more than in recent seasons, Eddie Howe would glean positives from defeat. Their aggression had rattled the visitors’ backline to the extent that, compelled to reply, Kyle Walker was sanctioned for the second of two crude fouls on Nathan Aké early on. Ederson, tearing out of his penalty area, would also earn a caution for clattering Callum Wilson while the contest was still goalless, a punishment the locals – if not Howe – considered too lenient.

“They had to be physical because we were,” said the Bournemouth manager. “They knew they were in a game. That was important for us today: we had to show our supporters we’d given everything to try and compete with one of the best club teams in the world. We did that.” Ederson was called on to thwart Adam Smith and Callum Wilson from close-range, the former after Nicolás Otamendi’s ill-judged chest down on the edge of the six-yard box.

It was ultimately the substitute Harry Wilson who offered proper hope with a wonderfully whipped free-kick into the top corner via a flick from the angle of post and bar. Yet, just as the hosts appeared to have wrested back the initiative, City made their quality tell on the counter. Lerma might have been penalised for standing on David Silva’s foot in the area – “A penalty? No, no, no. And last week there was a clear handball,” said a sarcastic Guardiola – before, unperturbed, the Spaniard spread more panic by wriggling between bodies towards the six-yard box.

Agüero emerged from the clutter to stab in his 400th career goal, the 27th time his combination with the Spaniard has yielded reward in the Premier League. David Silva will be missed.