Enzo Maresca described Manchester City as a team still under development after they secured a dramatic late victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Marc Guéhi levelled the score in the 85th minute before Josko Gvardiol struck the winner in stoppage time, giving City’s new head coach a victory in his opening match. Marcus Tavernier had put the visitors ahead during the first half.
Maresca believed City’s display was much like their performance in the previous Sunday’s 3-0 Community Shield defeat against Arsenal. “My view is the same as it was after the Arsenal match,” the Italian said. “People naturally make judgments based on results, but I have not noticed a major difference. We are still developing and searching for answers. Winning matches certainly makes that process easier.
“In the Premier League, you cannot expect to prevent every opportunity. Their goal came from their first attempt. They created two or three threatening situations, but the important thing is how you respond. Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly, who all started, are effectively still at the pre-season stage. That has a significant impact physically, and our level will continue to improve.”
Before kick-off, City displayed a large tifo featuring Maresca’s image and the message: “Welcome back Enzo.” He said: “It was an ideal day. Seeing the banner before the match made me very happy, and we were able to give the supporters something to celebrate at the end. It was an emotional occasion and the atmosphere was excellent. We deserved the victory, although we should not have needed to wait until the closing minutes. We wasted opportunities, they scored, and the match became much more difficult.”
Maresca selected Guéhi in an unusual midfield position. “I know Marc from Crystal Palace and have always felt he has the qualities to operate in midfield,” the coach said. “We worked on it for several days, and I thought he handled the role well. It gives us another option going forward.”
Marco Rose nearly guided Bournemouth to their first away victory over City in his debut match as the club’s manager. “We are competitive and arrived here determined to win for the first time,” the German said. “For much of the game, we were moving in the right direction. We did plenty of positive things, although there are still many areas where we must improve. Considering how the match unfolded, it was very unfortunate to lose in that manner. We defended too cautiously in two key moments: a corner and an attacking move.
“We should have dealt with the corner more effectively, while our defending for the second goal was far too passive. Our approach is to move forward and maintain a higher defensive line. Against this opposition, identifying the correct moments to press is difficult, but we executed the plan very well until the closing stages.”
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