The 23-year-old was making his full debut in front of the Etihad crowd after completing his €65m switch from Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday. However, Laporte was barely tested throughout the match as City not only dominated possession but also all the chances, with Alan Pardew’s side registering just one shot on goal all game.
Ben Foster kept the scoreline from becoming a thrashing for the visitors making save after save to deny the ‘Sky Blues’. He was called into action early when De Bruyne decided to try his luck with a curling long-range shot but thankfully the England international was up for the test.
It would not be long after that City would find their breakthrough. Fernandinho poked the ball under Foster in the 19th minute after a brilliant through ball from De Bruyne. It was a great finish by the Brazilian who is normally known for audacious long-range efforts.
From there it was one-way traffic. Although Pep Guardiola will be concerned after Silva limped off in the 38th minute with a suspected hip injury in another blow to the Premier League leaders following Leroy Sane's ankle injury against Cardiff on Sunday.
The former Barcelona manager will once again be angered with a lack of protection from referees as Brahim Diaz and Kyle Walker suffered strong challenges from Matt Phillips and Salomon Rondon respectively, with both receiving bookings.
- City domination -
City's second goal came from a more usual source as De Bruyne finally found the back of the net after threatening for most of the game. The Belgian broke fast on the counter and after evading a poor challenge from James McClean, passed to Sterling who returned the favour in the box which the 26-year-old comfortably knocked into the bottom left corner.
Then, minutes from the restart, substitute Ilkay Gundogan nearly caught Foster off guard with an extravagent attempt from 40-50 yards out but the West Brom keeper got back just in time to tip it over.
Guardiola's side would enjoy several more chances through Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bernardo Silva before killing the game off in the 89th minute through their Argentian striker.
Sterling would secure his second assist of the game by poking the ball through to Aguero in the box which the 29-year-old calmy chipped over Foster to score City's third.
West Brom failed to make any inroad into the match despite bringing on Phillips and new signing Daniel Sturridge in the second-half. Their only shot on goal would come in the 91st minute from Phillips but his low effort was weak and it was an easy save for Ederson, who could've sat with the fans to watch the game.
The victory means that Man City extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 15 points after Manchester United lost to Tottenham 2-0 on Wednesday. As for West Brom, all their momentum from the FA Cup win over Liverpool on Saturday has been lost and they find themselves bottom of the league and three points behind Swansea City in nineteenth after they shocked Arsenal to secure all three points on Tuesday.