Manchester City huffed and puffed, but fought back late on to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in their opening game of the 2026-27 Premier League season.
In the 26th minute, Marcus Tavernier fired the Cherries in front as City were unsettled by their counter-attacking game in the opening stanza.
Enzo Maresca's side grew into the match after the break and struck two goals late on to save their beacon, making a scrappy start to the new top-flight season.
Having lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield the previous weekend, the Sky Blues needed a big performance here to bounce back but struggled once more.
Rayan Cherki's inspired performance off the bench eventually got the job done, earning all three points on Maresca's first league match as the City manager.
Here are some key talking points from the clash:
1) Cherki deserves a starting place
If it wasn't apparent by now, Rayan Cherki thoroughly deserves a place in Manchester City's starting XI. After demonstrating flashes of his usual creative brilliance in the Arsenal defeat, the Frenchman came off the bench here and set-up both their goals on the day.
He whipped in a brilliant corner for Marc Guehi's equalizer before picking out Josko Gvardiol with a lovely through ball in stoppage-time that was initially ruled out for offside, but given following a careful VAR review.
2) Injury scare for debutant Anderson
Elliot Anderson was making his Premier League debut for Manchester City but it was cut short prematurely with an injury that forced him off after the hour mark. A collision with Bournemouth's Alex Scott left him on the floor, clutching his leg before getting replaced by Mateo Kovacic.
Head coach Enzo Maresca later revealed that it was just a cramp, allaying fears of a serious injury. With City's midfield running thin following Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders exits, fans will hope Anderson returns for their next game.
3) Haaland struggles as defenders save beacon
So often the goalscoring talisman for Manchester City, Erling Haaland drew another blank here. Trading his usual flowing locks for a brand new crew cut, the Norwegian missed two chances in the game which was quite uncharacteristic of a devastating finisher like him.
Luckily for City, defenders stepped up on the day with Guehi and Gvardiol scoring a goal apiece. The former atoned for his earlier miss with a perfectly placed header in the 84th minute to bring his side level before a stunning finish from Gvardiol for a stoppage-time winner.
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