A debut with suffering

Manchester City kicked off the Premier League with a dramatic victory against Bournemouth, but Enzo Maresca chose not to get carried away with the euphoria. The new successor to Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his team is still a work in progress. The match seemed to slip away when Marcus Tavernier put the visitors ahead in the 26th minute, and the "Cherries" unbeaten streak of 18 matches remained intact. However, in the 84th minute, Marc Guehi appeared with a header to equalize, and in stoppage time, Josko Gvardiol sealed the 2-1 after an assist from Rayan Cherki.

Maresca calls for calm and solutions

Despite the victory, the Italian coach was clear: "I feel the same as after Arsenal. I know most people judge by results, but I don't see a big difference between last week and today. This is a work in progress." The reference to the 0-3 defeat in the Community Shield against the champions sets the tone of his speech. Maresca surprised by placing Guehi as a central midfielder, a role in which the former Crystal Palace player responded with almost 95% passing accuracy and led the match in passes to the final third. "We need solutions, to prepare the team for the entire season.Today Marc did very well in a new role," he added.

Reinforcements on the horizon

Guehi himself was enthusiastic about the experiment: "It was the coach's idea, we worked on it during the week. I am happy that it worked out. With everyone's help, I felt comfortable." He even joked: "The next one? Who knows, maybe as a forward." Meanwhile, City could add a new name to the midfield, there are talks of a close agreement for Ayyoub Bouaddi, a young player from Lille, in a 100 million euro deal. Maresca, true to his cautious style, concluded: "I will talk to the club now. There's a week left, but something is definitely going to happen." The message is clear, victory yes, euphoria no. For Maresca, Manchester City is just beginning to take shape.

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