By SCM Sport Reporter at the Etihad Stadium
ENZO MARESCA’S Premier League reign as Manchester City boss got off to a heart-pounding start as a late double rescued a 2-1 victory over a fearless AFC Bournemouth. For 84 minutes, the Etihad Stadium was staring down an uncomfortable opening-day upset, but superstar substitute Rayan Cherki turned the game on its head to seal a dramatic comeback victory.
The visiting Cherries came out firing under new manager Marco Rose and grabbed a shock lead in the 26th minute. A slick counter-attack saw striker Evanilson break free on the right flank and whip a pin-point cross into the box for Marcus Tavernier.
The winger made no mistake, sliding the ball past a helpless Gianluigi Donnarumma to stun the home crowd and put Bournemouth 1-0 ahead.
City struggled for flow in the first half. Erling Haaland—sporting a fresh buzz cut on his 200th appearance for the club—fliffed a golden chance from Nico O’Reilly’s cross, while young full-back Rico Lewis saw a early effort turned away by Bournemouth keeper Đorđe Petrović. Bournemouth refused to park the bus, with Justin Kluivert and Tavernier repeatedly testing City’s rearguard.
Desperate for inspiration, Maresca turned to his bench in the 62nd minute, introducing French playmaker Rayan Cherki alongside Mateo Kovačić. It proved to be a stroke of managerial genius.
The pressure finally told six minutes from time. Cherki swung in an inviting corner, allowing defender Marc Guéhi to rise above the defense and power home a bullet header, redeeming himself for an earlier second-half miss.
With the Etihad roaring, City pressed for the winner in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Cherki produced another moment of magic, slipping a clever pass through to Joško Gvardiol. The Croatian defender calmly turned the ball into the bottom-left corner.
The assistant’s flag initially raised for offside, but a nerve-wracking VAR review confirmed Gvardiol was onside, sparking wild celebrations on the touchline as Maresca embraced his staff.
In terms of match statistics, Manchester City dominated the overall flow of the game despite the late heroics, controlling roughly 64 percent of total possession compared to AFC Bournemouth’s 36 percent.
City generated 18 shot attempts throughout the ninety minutes, registering 7 of those on target, while the Cherries proved dangerous on the break by matching 4 shots on target out of 9 total efforts. Pass accuracy leaned heavily in favor of the hosts, who completed 88 percent of their 580 passes, while Bournemouth completed 79 percent of 320 passes. City also held the upper hand in set-pieces, earning 8 corner kicks to Bournemouth’s 3.
In a competitive physical battle, Bournemouth committed 14 fouls compared to City’s 10, with the referee issuing yellow cards to Phil Foden for City, alongside Evanilson and António Silva for the visitors.
