Man City left it late, very late, to clinch all three points in Enzo Maresca's first Premier League game in charge of the club. City played well in patches and were the dominant side overall, but defensive frailties again are a huge cause for concern.
Erling Haaland should've put Man City ahead but inexplicably missed as the ball just seemed to hit hiim from three yards out. Nico O' Reilly did well down the left and put over a great ball to the Striking Viking, but Haaland didn't read it at all.
Bournemouth went ahead after three City defenders failed to make a successful challenge, the ball went out to a completely free Evanilson on the right who whipped it into a completely free Marcus Tavenier who hit a crisp first-time finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma. What Rico Lewis was doing I've no idea, he moved towards the centre of the box for absolutely no reason at all leaving his man in all kinds of space to hit home.
Look, I'm not a Rico Lewis hater by all means. In fact, I thought he started well, playing a box to box role in the first 20 minutes. He got a shot off early, too, after a back-heel flick from Phil Foden opened up the opportunity for Lewis to strike. However, Rico does look a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights sometimes, he doesn't seem to know what position he's meant to be in.
He's not alone there, though. City defensively looked shaky, Donnarumma has had to make three or four good saves.
The defensive lineup changed completely, depending on whether we had the ball. None of them seemed to know where to be and when.
Marc Guehi started in midfield, alongside Elliot Anderson. You know what? Both were fantastic. Guehi was very John Stones-esque in his play today, Elliot Anderson looked comfortable and played some lovely balls through.
It was Guehi who got Man City back into the match with a header from a set piece, after missing a header from two yards out earlier on in the second half. Then, in injury time, Josko Gvardiol scores the winner after a VAR check for offside. It was excellent play from the Croatian, both in holding his run and his finish. Gvardiol had a pretty poor game in fairness, but a last minute winner will make up for that.
The man who got the assists? One Mr Rayan Cherki. City fans were left baffled by Maresca leaving the talisman out of the starting XI.
In all honesty, I was reasonably happy with the starting lineup. I didn't expect Guehi in midfield, I'm not sure anyone did, I was expecting Rico Lewis to be the up-and-down runner with Anderson alongside him. Antoine Semenyo and Foden either side of Haaland is one heck of an attacking three.
City dominated possession but the final ball was so poor. We were slow, lacked any kind of urgency and intensity and Bournemouth found it easy to defend against us.
Enter Cherki. The Frenchman simply has to start every game. City looked exciting, dangerous and something near their best every time Cherki got on the ball.
So, urgency and intensity needs much improvement. Defensively, there's work to do. But you know what? It's the first EPL game post-Pep. It's going to take time to gel and understand how Enzo Maresca wants us to play. The performances will come, it's the wins that matter most.
Next up, away at Crystal Palace! Please start Cherki, Enzo.
Add us as a preferred source on Google