MANCHESTER CITY 2-1: BOURNEMOUTH: Enzo Maresca was facing an embarrassing defeat on his first Manchester City outing before two late goals as the Italian seeks to fill the huge void left by Pep Guardiola
Enzo Maresca's Man City tenure began with a win
Enzo Maresca's Man City tenure began with a win
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Had Pep Guardiola masterminded this comeback win, he would have been hailed a genius again. But Enzo Maresca still has a long, long way to go before earning comparisons to the bloke he has replaced.
In the meantime, Maresca will just be relieved to have got his first positive result on the board, however difficult it was to get. For more than 84 minutes Manchester City appeared to be heading towards the kind of defeat which would have raised serious questions about Maresca's ability to fill the gigantic shoes of Guardiola.
Marcus Tavernier had put Bournemouth ahead before half time, sending most of the Etihad into silence. And despite dominating possession, City offered little in the way of a fightback, aside from some bad misses from Erling Haaland and Marc Guehi.
But thanks to bit of luck and the introduction of Rayan Cherki, Maresca's men somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Guehi's deflected header from Cherki's corner levelled the scores, before Cherki's clever pass allowed Josko Gvardiol to snatch the winner in stoppage time. And breathe, Enzo.
Fresh off a thrashing from Arsenal in the Community Shield, City begun their league campaign knowing the visit of Bournemouth carried a bit more significance. Starting with a home defeat to a team you'd trounced by an aggregate score of 34-6 in nine previous home wins, was unthinkable.
Not least when Maresca had rolled the dice and picked two of his stars in unorthodox positions, with Guehi operating as a defensive midfielder and Nico O'Reilly starting in the No.10 role. Visiting boss Marco Rose was also starting a new job, and handed a debut to Antonio Silva following his arrival from Benfica.
City started well and ripped into Bournemouth. Haaland tore through midfield to help create a chance for Rico Lewis, but his shot was well saved by Dorde Petrovic. O'Reilly had a free header from the resulting corner, but sent it onto the roof of the net, before Phil Foden had a shot blocked.
Josko Gvardiol scored in stoppage time to down Bournemouth
Josko Gvardiol scored in stoppage time to down Bournemouth
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Haaland then blew a golden chance, fluffing a cross from O'Reilly after the England international had charged half the length of the field before picking him out to perfection. The blunder looked even worse on 26 minutes, when Rose's men went ahead.
It was their first real attack of the game, but a clinical one. City failed to deal with a long ball forward, allowing Rayan to turn sharply and pick out Evanilson, who delivered a sublime cross which Tavernier converted at the back post. Cue silence in most parts of the ground.
It took a crucial interception from Gvardiol to stop Rayan from having a clear run on goal, as City continued to wobble. Petrovic scrambled to his left to keep out a header from Haaland, but the visitors were looking the most dangerous. Tavernier curled a strike just wide and Gianluigi Donnarumma did well to deny Justin Kluivert.
A rumpus on the stroke of half time summed up City's frustrations. That feeling got worse when Guehi missed an absolute sitter from close range, when it looked easier to score.
City needed a spark and Guehi provided one, equalising with five minutes remaining to make amends, before Gvardiol completed the fightback. But it could still promise to be a long season for Maresca. Provided he survives to the end of it, of course.
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