Enzo Maresca's first Premier League game in charge of Manchester City very nearly turned into an embarrassment. It ended, instead, in relief: two goals in the last ten minutes gave City a 2-1 win over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, but the manner of it left English pundits far from convinced that the champions-elect tag City once wore fits this rebuilt side just yet.
Bournemouth, themselves managed for the first time in the league by their own new head coach Marco Rose, led for over an hour. Marcus Tavernier put the visitors ahead in the 26th minute, and City spent long stretches of the afternoon dominating possession without turning it into clear chances, exactly the kind of toothless control that has followed Maresca since he replaced Pep Guardiola.
The equaliser finally arrived in the 84th minute, Marc Guehi rising to head home a Rayan Cherki corner. Seven minutes later, in the first minute of stoppage time, Cherki turned provider again, teeing up Josko Gvardiol to slot City's winner from close range.
That goal was initially chalked off for offside before a VAR review overturned the call, replays showing that Bournemouth defender James Hill's outstretched leg had played Gvardiol onside. The goal stood, and City escaped with all three points.
It was Maresca's first competitive victory since taking over at the Etihad. He was appointed Manchester City manager in late June, on a three-year contract running to 2029, ending Guardiola's long reign after the club's title-winning era gave way to a season in which Arsenal were crowned champions. Maresca arrived at City after leaving Chelsea mid-season, with the two clubs agreeing a compensation package for his departure.
His first game in the job had already gone badly: City were beaten by Arsenal in the Community Shield before a ball had even been kicked in the league. Sunday's win over Bournemouth was meant to be the reset, and by the final whistle it technically was, three points on the board. But the football writers covering the game were not rushing to call it a turning point.
ONE reported that English media coverage, including an assessment in the Daily Mail, judged that City "came away with the upper hand" but that the performance itself was "far from convincing." Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, working as a pundit for the BBC, argued City had done enough over the 90-plus minutes to deserve the win on the balance of play, remarking that "seven minutes is a long time in football" once City finally found their breakthrough.
For Bournemouth and Rose, there was disappointment despite an eye-catching display against one of the league's traditional heavyweights. The Cherries, who lost the highly rated Andoni Iraola to a move away from Dean Court in the close season, had shown enough in defence and in Tavernier's opening goal to suggest Rose's methods can travel from Germany to the Premier League, even in a losing cause.
For City, the bigger story is what Sunday's laboured win says about the scale of Maresca's rebuilding job. A stoppage-time smash-and-grab is a result any manager will take in August, but it will need to be backed up with more control and more conviction before questions about the post-Guardiola transition start to quiet down.
