Guehi & Gvardiol save Maresca from losing point at the start of the season. Here's the match report.

2026/2027 Premier League

2-1

Match Report

Rayan Cherki came off the bench to assist two late goals as Manchester City opened their first Premier League campaign under Enzo Maresca with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Marcus Tavernier's first-half strike gave the Cherries – who were playing their first competitive match under Marco Rose – a lead they held until the 84th minute.

However, a largely drab attacking performance from City was given a new dimension when Cherki stepped off the bench, and his corner led to Marc Guehi heading in the equaliser. 

Cherki then provided the pass for Josko Gvardiol's stoppage-time winner, which was awarded following a VAR review for a possible offside in the build-up, as Maresca breathed a sigh of relief and Bournemouth suffered their first Premier League defeat since January.

Rayan Cherki now has more open-play assists in the Premier League since the start of last season than any other player (12). pic.twitter.com/VZgXWcByYi

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 23, 2026

Maresca's men created the first pair of chances as Djordje Petrovic stood tall to thwart Rico Lewis at his near post and Erling Haaland miscued after an excellent burst down the left from Nico O'Reilly, but it was Bournemouth who struck first in the 26th minute.

Having already tested Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rayan was involved in a move that saw the ball worked out to Evanilson, and his right-wing centre was swept home by Tavernier. 

Haaland had a header kept out by Petrovic, but that was City's only real opportunity to equalise before half-time, and Bournemouth could easily have gone further ahead before the interval. 

Tavernier curled wide from the edge of the box, while Justin Kluivert's drive was parried by Donnarumma, with no red and black shirts attacking the rebound. 

Guehi – who partnered England team-mate Elliot Anderson in midfield with City still waiting to complete a €100m (£85.6m) deal for Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi – saw a brilliant chance fall his way early in the second half, but he somehow headed wide with the entire goal gaping.

However, Guehi would eventually be the man to get the Citizens level, powering past Petrovic when he was again left unmarked from Cherki's right-wing corner.

City continued to throw players forward in search of a winner, which arrived when Gvardiol showed the composure of a forward to control Cherki's pass and slot into the bottom-left corner, with Maresca celebrating wildly on the touchline after the goal was awarded.

Frame it.  pic.twitter.com/N9Fig3FJFm

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 23, 2026

Winning start for Maresca... just

City tend to start well under new management, with Maresca becoming their fifth boss in a row to win his opening Premier League game in charge (including interims).

The last City boss to lose their opening match at the helm in the competition was Mark Hughes, who oversaw a 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa back in August 2008.

However, there is plenty for the Italian to work on after City got away with what was an underwhelming and disjointed performance for long periods. 

The hosts ultimately ended the contest with 2.36 expected goals (xG) to Bournemouth's 0.63, though only 0.49 of City's tally came in the first half, compared to 0.55 for the Cherries.

Cherki's 63rd-minute introduction – in place of O'Reilly – was the turning point, as the Frenchman became the first City player to assist multiple goals as a substitute in a single Premier League game since Ilkay Gundogan in December 2021, versus Leeds United. 

And while Maresca can celebrate a victory, Bournemouth's unbeaten run, which was the longest in the Premier League at 18 matches (W8 D10 under Andoni Iraola at the end of 2025-26) is over, with their previous defeat coming against Arsenal in their first match of 2026.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' O'Reilly makes an aggressive challenge on his opponent

4' Lewis produces a promising first-time shot at goal, but his effort is blocked with a brilliant save

12' O'Reilly sends a cross into the box, but Haaland's effort misses the target

14' Donnarumma pulls off a great save to deny Rayan

26' GOAL! Evanilson plays a pass for Tavernier to strike the ball into the net! Man City 0-1 Bournemouth

31' Haaland takes a shot from the edge of the box, but it's not a big threat for the goalkeeper

39' Haaland attempts to head home after a precise cross into the box, but the effort is kept out

41' Donnarumma pulls off a great save to deny Kluivert, who unleashes a low drive to the bottom corner

46' Gillett shows a yellow card to Evanilson, whose tackle is really hard and late

50' Guehi finds space in the box and tries a looping header from the corner, but the ball goes just wide

58' Nunes sends a cross into the box, but Semenyo misses the target

62' Anderson is substituted due to injury, Kovacic comes on

68' Foden strikes the ball towards goal, but it fails to reach the target after being blocked

71' Haaland finds himself in a great position and goes for goal, but it flies well over the bar

74' Guehi plays a pass for Haaland inside the box, but the striker's effort is saved by the keeper

85' GOAL! Guehi gets his head on the ball and puts it into the net! Man City 1-1 Bournemouth

91' GOAL! Gvardiol collects a pass from Cherki and fires the ball into the net! Man City 2-1 Bournemouth

Line-ups

Man City XI: Ruben Dias, Donnarumma, Elliot Anderson, Haaland, Foden, Guehi, Antoine Semenyo, Gvardiol, Lewis, Nico O'Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov

Subs: Gerónimo Rulli, Kovacic, Grealish, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Matheus Nunes, Nico González, Cherki, Vitor Reis

Bournemouth XI: Smith, Lewis Cook, Marcus Tavernier, Kluivert, Djordje Petrovic, Evanilson, James Hill, Adrien Truffert, Alex Scott, António Silva, Rayan

Subs: Brooks, Adams, Bafodé Diakité, Juanlu Sánchez, Will Dennis, Daniel Jebbison, Álvaro Rodríguez, Ben Gannon-Doak, Alex Tóth