- Manchester City beat Bournemouth 2-1 in Maresca’s league debut
- Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol scored late goals
- The victory gives City a winning start after Guardiola’s departure
Manchester City opened their new era without Pep Guardiola with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday, as late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol secured a winning start for Enzo Maresca.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that Bournemouth appeared on course for an impressive victory after Marcus Tavernier gave the visitors the lead in the first half at the Etihad Stadium.
City struggled to create clear opportunities for much of the match but produced a late comeback to rescue all three points.
Guehi levelled the score with six minutes of normal time remaining, heading Rayan Cherki’s corner beyond Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
The turnaround was completed in stoppage time when Gvardiol converted a clever pass from Cherki to give City a 2-1 win.
The victory offers Maresca an early boost as he takes charge following Guardiola’s highly successful decade at the club. Guardiola won 20 major trophies during his time in Manchester, including six Premier League titles.
Maresca has said he believes he can achieve similar success if given enough time to oversee significant changes within the squad.
City entered the new campaign under pressure after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend, raising concerns about their ability to challenge for the Premier League title.
Against Bournemouth, those concerns remained visible for long periods as City lacked fluidity in attack and looked vulnerable defensively.
The club has undergone major changes, with Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders reportedly departing. Savinho is also expected to move to Tottenham.
England midfielder Elliot Anderson, one of Maresca’s major additions, struggled to make an impact before being forced off in the second half.
Reports also indicated that City were preparing an £86 million deal for teenage Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille, with further reinforcements expected as Maresca attempts to close the gap on Arsenal.
Maresca made a bold selection for his first league game, naming six players with defensive backgrounds in his starting XI. Guehi was deployed in midfield, while Nico O’Reilly was pushed into a more advanced position close to Erling Haaland.
Haaland, who recently changed his hairstyle ahead of the new campaign, had an early opportunity to put City ahead but surprisingly failed to convert O’Reilly’s cross from close range.
Bournemouth then punished City in the 26th minute. Evanilson delivered a precise cross into the box, where Tavernier found enough space between Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov to finish from six yards.
City struggled to respond before the interval, with Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo finding it difficult to combine effectively with Haaland.
The hosts nearly equalised shortly after the restart when Guehi met Foden’s corner, but his header from close range went wide.
As frustration grew among the home supporters, Maresca introduced Cherki, a decision that ultimately transformed the contest.
Cherki immediately provided greater creativity and was instrumental in both of City’s goals.
His corner in the 84th minute found Guehi, who made no mistake with his header to bring City level.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Cherki produced another decisive contribution, threading a pass through the Bournemouth defence for Gvardiol to finish and complete City’s dramatic comeback.
The late victory gave Maresca a crucial three points in his first Premier League match in charge and spared City from what would have been a disappointing start to the post-Guardiola era.
