Man City Strike Twice Late On To Beat Bournemouth 2-1

Manchester City scored two late goals to earn Enzo Maresca a win in his first Premier League game in charge, denying Marco Rose the perfect start as Bournemouth boss.

The Cherries took the first-half lead through Marcus Tavernier, who was left in loads of space to slam in after Evanilson’s incisive low ball across the area.

Erling Haaland, usually at his most prolific in August, missed a host of chances for City as they looked set for a frustrating afternoon.

But Marc Guehi, playing in defensive midfield for only the third time in his career, nodded in Rayan Cherki’s corner with six minutes to go.

It got even worse for Bournemouth when Josko Gvardiol guided a shot into the bottom corner in injury time. The goal was initially disallowed for offside but was given after a video assistant referee review.

It was Bournemouth’s first defeat in any competition since January, ending their club-record 18-game unbeaten run.

City showed improvement from the side that was beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in last Sunday’s Community Shield, but for most of the game, it looked as if Maresca was going to start with consecutive defeats.

Replacing a legend is always difficult, as David Moyes experienced when Sir Alex Ferguson left neighbours Manchester United in 2013, and the late comeback will come as a major relief in City’s first Premier League game without Pep Guardiola in a decade.

City did not exactly promote from within when hiring Maresca, who quit as Chelsea manager at the start of 2026, but the Italian was Guardiola’s City assistant in 2022-23 and would perhaps be seen as something of a continuity candidate.

It was a shaky start though, as City went 1-0 down at home on the opening day of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 1995-96, the season they ended up being relegated.

Maresca’s team selection confused many, with six players who have played most of their City games in defence starting on Sunday, including Guehi in midfield.

But Guehi looked as if he had rescued a point before defender Gvardiol added two more from another Cherki pass. Things would have been more comfortable for City had Haaland brought his shooting boots.

The Norwegian has scored 22 goals in 14 Premier League games in the month of August but failed to take any of his five chances on the day.

Bournemouth fans would have feared a dip after enjoying the best season in their history last campaign, with sixth place taking them into Europe for the first time ever.

It was a surprise when boss Andoni Iraola announced in April that he would be leaving in the summer, eventually joining Liverpool.

Ex-Salzburg and Leipzig boss Rose was confirmed soon after, replacing Iraola at the end of last season and giving him plenty of time to watch from a distance and get to know his new team.

Only one of the side that started against City was a new signing, with Portuguese defender Antonio Silva replacing Marcos Senesi, who left for Tottenham.

The Cherries showed plenty of the aggressive, positive play they produced under Iraola, thanks to dangerous attackers on the break, including Rayan, Evanilson and Tavernier, who all linked up well for the opening goal.

Letting the lead slip late on will be hugely frustrating for Bournemouth and ends their long unbeaten run, but Rose, and Cherries supporters, should still have seen plenty to encourage them from a game they would not have expected to win.

BBC