A Josko Gvardiol stoppage time strike helped Manchester City overcome Bournemouth 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday.
It was a far from ideal start for Enzo Maresca to his managerial stint as for large parts of the game, City was on the backfoot after conceding an early goal to the visitor. But in the end, the eight-time Premier League champion came away with all three points.
Bournemouth opened the scoring in the 26th minute through a Marcus Tavernier strike and went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
City started the second half with more urgency and created a flurry of goal-scoring opportunities but the opening never came.
Erling Haaland, sporting a new buzz cut, looked far from his best as he managed only three shots on target, all tame efforts that did not threaten Bournemouth goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic.
Maresca’s side kept pressing and were finally rewarded in the 84th minute, as centre-back Marc Guehi headed home a corner from Rayan Cherki to level the scores.
And inn the 91st minute, Gvardiol won it for City via yet another Cherki assist through the back line, which the defender swivelled before slotting home.
Manchester City vs Bournemouth player ratings
Manchester City: Gianluigi Donnarumma (7.0/10), Abdukodir Khusanov (6.6/10), Ruben Dias (7.1/10), Marc Guehi (8.5/10), Joshko Guardiol (8.3/10), Rico Lewis (6.6/10), Elliot Anderson (6.3/10), Nico O'Reilly (6.8/10), Anthony Semenyo (7.1/10), Phil Foden (6.7/10), and Erling Haaland (6.4/10).
Subs: Matheus Nunes (6.5/10), Rayan Cherki (7.8/10), Mateo Kovačić (6.0/10), and Jack Grealish (3/10).
Bournemouth: Đorđe Petrović (6.5/10), Adam Smith (6.0/10), António Silva (6.0/10), James Hill (6.0/10), Adrien Truffert (6.0/10), Lewis Cook (6.5/10), Alex Scott (6.5/10), Justin Kluivert (7.0/10), Marcus Tavernier (7.5/10), Rayan (7.0/10), and Evanilson (6.5/10)
Subs: Daniel Jebbison (6.0/10), Alex Tóth (6.0/10), Tyler Adams (6.0/10), and Ben Gannon-Doak (4/10).
Published on Aug 23, 2026