Man City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 at home in their opening match of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
In his first league match in charge of the Cityzens following the departure of Pep Guardiola, Enzo Maresca saw his side opened up by a 26th-minute Marcus Tavernier strike — the English winger slotting home at the back post following great work from Cherries striker Evanilson.
It looked like it was going to be one of those days for City, but they finally managed to breach Bournemouth in the 85th minute, with some miserable defending allowing Marc Guehi to head home a Rayan Cherki corner. Cherki provided another assist in second-half stoppage time as he slipped Josko Gvardiol in on goal for a dramatic winner, only given after VAR overturned an on-field offside call.
Cherki changes the game amid more Maresca worries
Although the Community Shield is never the best barometer by which to test a side, the manner of the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in Cardiff did leave many Manchester City fans concerned. There will have been no optimism based on their first-half showing here.
As they were against the Gunners, City were far too passive defensively against Bournemouth, standing off the visitors and allowing them acres of time and space with which to cut them open.
You cannot do that against a side blessed with as many technicians as Bournemouth, and City were punished midway through the first half as Tavernier gave the South Coast side the lead. It could have been worse by half-time, with Justin Kluivert forcing a big save from Gianluigi Donnarumma just before the break.
With the ball, City lacked fluidity and were guilty of misplacing a host of simple passes, denying them the crucial momentum needed to put Bournemouth on the back foot.
The turning point came in the 63rd minute when Rayan Cherki replaced Nico O’Reilly.
Cherki put in a creative masterclass last season in his debut Premier League campaign, and on Sunday, he went on a one-man mission to make sure his new boss made a winning start.
It was Cherki’s delicious delivery that found the unmarked Guehi inside the box as City finally equalised. From there, a winner seemed inevitable, but it still took a sublime through-ball from Cherki to find Gvardiol’s run, with the Croatian defender dispatching with a striker-esque finish.
The Frenchman was only on the pitch for 27 minutes, but he still managed to create a match-high four chances, while delivering three crosses and three line-breaking passes.
From the moment he entered the pitch, Cherki made it his business to make City the protagonists and carve Bournemouth open. He absolutely saved his manager’s blushes here.
No Iraola hangover for Bournemouth
Bournemouth will be heartbroken at leaving the Etihad Stadium empty-handed, but that shouldn’t detract from what was an excellent performance.
There was always going to be concerns regarding how the Cherries would look following Andoni Iraola’s departure to Liverpool, given the Basque manager’s achievements at the Vitality Stadium. However, the early signs under Marco Rose look very promising.
Bournemouth pressed Man City with tenacity and purpose in the first half, forcing multiple turnovers in dangerous areas. They capitalised on their work with the opening goal and multiple other big chances, while they played with fluidity and precision. On another day, they could have gone in at half-time two or three goals to the good.
If you were to make a criticism of Rose and his side, it was that they surrendered the momentum to Man City in the second half, managing just one shot and 0.08 xG after the break compared to four shots and 0.55 xG before it.
However, once a side like City clicks into gear, it can be very difficult to gain a foothold, especially when they introduce someone with the genius of Cherki.
All of that said, however, the early signs for Rose’s Bournemouth are deeply encouraging, with the Cherries seemingly primed for another tilt in the top half of the Premier League.
No hair, no party for Haaland
Erling Haaland emerged from the Etihad Stadium tunnel on Sunday sporting a new look, with the Norwegian striker hacking off his blonde locks in favour of a shorter cut.
Unfortunately, Haaland’s shock factor didn’t pay off, with the striker failing to find the net and seeing his five-game Premier League scoring streak come to an end.
It wasn’t for the lack of trying from Haaland, who attempted a match-high five shots. However, he just failed to find his range, firing a blank despite 1.18 xGOT.
This was the most shots Haaland has attempted without scoring in a single Premier League match since he failed to bag from seven shots against Tottenham Hotspur in November 2024. On this occasion, Cherki’s creativity and the finishing of defensive stars Guehi and Gvardiol bailed him out.
Haaland will want to get his latest Golden Boot bid up and running as soon as possible, though.