Julian Alvarez has sent Pep Guardiola another message after Man City performance vs Bournemouth

Julian Alvarez may have counted himself unfortunate not to have been awarded a second goal against Bournemouth on Saturday, but that did not diminish his impact at the Vitality Stadium.

He had his brace for all of five minutes before the Dubious Goals Committee adjudged his snapshot to have been heading wide, were it not for the knee of Chris Mepham. Just the one goal on the night then, but that is two in his last three starts and three since returning from Qatar as a World Cup winner.

Alvarez joined City before Erling Haaland but arrived in Manchester last summer as the Norwegian's back-up, having returned to River Plate on loan for the second half of last season after his move was confirmed that January.

RATINGS: Foden brilliant and Gundogan good in Bournemouth win

A brace against West Ham on the opening weekend laid the foundations for a season in which Haaland has already netted 33 times in all competitions, surpassing last season's Golden Boot winning total of 23 by mid-January and becoming City's most prolific single-campaign forward at Bournemouth on Saturday, overtaking Sergio Aguero's 26 strikes during the 2014/2015 term.

Such form has reduced Alvarez to just 13 starts in sky blue, the 23-year-old replacing those around Haaland just as much as standing in for the man himself. On Saturday evening, he was another willing runner into the box, at times he has played wide, at times he has led the line.

"Before I came here, I knew the way Pep works," Alvarez told GQ Magazine at the beginning of February. "But even I was surprised at how much rotation there is. Pep almost never picks the same 11 in consecutive games – you make sure you're always alert and at 100 per cent so that when your time comes, you know