EPL: Man City beat Bournemouth 2-1 in Maresca’s debut

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Manchester City made a winning start to life without Pep Guardiola as late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory against Bournemouth on Sunday in Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League game as the Spaniard’s replacement.

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Marcus Tavernier’s first half goal put Bournemouth ahead at the Etihad Stadium before City staged a pulsating fightback in the final minutes.

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Marc Guehi headed City’s equaliser with six minutes left before Gvardiol stroked in the stoppage-time winner.

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Guardiola won 20 trophies, including six Premier League titles, during a glorious decade with City.

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His reign started with a late win at home to Sunderland in 2016 and Maresca will hope his own narrow victory serves as the prelude to an equally successful spell.

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Maresca insists he can replicate Guardiola’s trophy haul if he is given time to handle the “big changes” at the club.

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City’s lacklustre 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in last weekend’s Community Shield raised questions about their ability to keep pace with the Premier League champions this season.

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For much of their top-flight opener, City were again short of inspiration in attack and cohesion at the back.

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But they found a way to dig out a result that allowed Maresca to breath a sigh of relief.

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It is a time of major upheaval at City, with Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders all leaving and Savinho set to join Tottenham.

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England midfielder Elliot Anderson has been Maresca’s only major signing and he was unimpressive before hobbling off in the second half.

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City are set to sign teenage Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille in a deal worth £86 million ($117 million), according to reports on Sunday.

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But more new recruits will be needed if City are to close the gap on Arsenal.

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Critical decision

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Maresca wasted little time emulating one aspect of Guardiola’s reign as he unveiled a curious starting line-up.

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The Italian picked six players who could be classed as defenders, with England centre-back Guehi deployed in midfield and Nico O’Reilly moved from his usual role on the left to a position closer to Erling Haaland in attack.

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Haaland shed his long blond hair on the eve of the new season, describing his close-cropped look as “new season, new trim”.

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The City striker, who starred for Norway at the World Cup, might have looked sharp, but his finishing was rusty when he somehow prodded wide from close-range after O’Reilly’s cross presented him with a golden opportunity.

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City were punished by an incisive counter from Bournemouth in the 26th minute.

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Evanilson’s perfectly weighted cross fizzed across the penalty area as City defenders Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov stood statuesque, allowing Tavernier time and space to stroke a composed finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma from six yards.

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City forwards Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo struggled to link up effectively with Haaland, whose glancing header was clawed away by Djordje Petrovic.

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Guehi should have equalised immediately after the interval from Foden’s corner, but he surpassed Haaland’s woeful first half miss with an even worse header from virtually on the line.

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Moans from supporters underwhelmed by Maresca’s style of play were a constant soundtrack to his time at Chelsea.

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It must have alarmed City’s hierarchy to hear similar complaints from the stands before Maresca had even completed 90 minutes in charge.

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But Maresca made the critical decision to send on French playmaker Rayan Cherki and the move changed the course of the match.

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It was Cherki’s corner that arrowed towards Guehi in the 84th minute, presenting the defender with a chance that he headed past Petrovic in clinical fashion.

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And in stoppage-time, Cherki slipped a deft pass through the heart of the Bournemouth defence for Gvardiol to slot home as Maresca punched the air in delight.

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AFP

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