Manchester City beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Sunday. Late second half goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol were enough for Enzo Maresca’s side to pick up all three points after Marcus Tavernier had given Marco Rose’s side a first half lead. Heading into Sunday’s match at the Etihad Stadium, there were several questions that arose in terms of player performance, selection and how City would play under Enzo Maresca. Some of those were answered to a degree, but those particular answers will evolve throughout the 2026-27 season.
Rico Lewis struggled at right-back and Manchester City looked better when Matheus Nunes came on the pitch.
Rico Lewis was given an opportunity to start at right-back by Enzo Maresca on Sunday. Matheus Nunes did suffer an injury in the warm-up to Manchester City’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield. The assumption was that Matheus Nunes wasn’t fit enough to start, which gave Rico Lewis an opportunity. Come the final whistle, it was easy to see that Enzo Maresca’s side is infinitely better when Matheus Nunes is at right-back.
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Rico Lewis could not quite influence Sunday’s match as he would have liked. He did invert into midfield as he typically does when starting at right-back. However, Lewis struggles to get back when Manchester City lose possession playing in this role. His lack of athleticism does hurt him out of possession. Marcus Tavernier ghosted in behind Lewis for Bournemouth’s opening goal but it would be harsh to hold Lewis culpable for Bournemouth’s goal.
Matheus Nunes replaced Rico Lewis in the 57th minute on Sunday. Immediately, Nunes brought the drive that City needed from right-back in possession. Defensively, although Bournemouth didn’t carry much threat in the second half, Nunes got back better than Lewis and City were a lot more solid with Matheus Nunes at right-back.
Coming out of Sunday’s game, you sense that Rico Lewis will be a midfielder for Enzo Maresca. He doesn’t seem suited to playing at right-back in this Manchester City side unless it is against specific opponents.
Enzo Maresca made the necessary changes when required to turn the match in Manchester City’s favour.
Manchester City weren’t playing badly ten minutes after halftime against Bournemouth. However, they did need more spark and life to their play to eventually turn their opening Premier League fixture of the season in their favour. Enzo Maresca spotted this and made three changes that did eventually allow his team to push on and beat Marco Rose’s side.
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Matheus Nunes replaced Rico Lewis in the 57th minute at the Etihad. Six minutes later, Rayan Cherki and Mateo Kovacic replaced Nico O’Reilly and Elliot Anderson, who was suffering from cramp. Jack Grealish replaced Phil Foden in the 82nd minute.
The first three changes that Maresca made altered Sunday’s match. Cherki set up both of Manchester City’s goals and he immediately unsettled the Bournemouth defence as soon as he came on the pitch. As mentioned previously, Matheus Nunes gave City exactly what they needed in terms of drive and pace at the back as a right-back. Elliot Anderson wasn’t poor by any stretch, but Kovacic slotted into midfield seamlessly and helped give his team the impetus they needed to drive the game forward.
Enzo Maresca identified the changes that Manchester City needed in the second half against Bournemouth. He used the weapons at his disposal to turn the game in his team’s favour, which was pleasing to see.
Also, Enzo Maresca isn’t afraird to look outside the box to solve isses with his team selection.
Manchester City did have a void that needed to be filled in midfield on Sunday. Enzo Maresca turned to Marc Guehi to provide solidity to his team’s engine room. Guehi was superb in midfield and his performance fully justified Maresca’s decision to play him in midfield.
For the past ten years, Pep Guardiola was always been thinking outside the box to find tactical solutions for his team at Manchester City. Enzo Maresca followed suit on Sunday. You do feel that it won’t be the last time that Maresca finds a different solution to a tactical issue during his tenure as Manchester City manager.
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Lastly, Enzo Maresca’s side will need time to fully click into gear.
In my opinion, there were far more positives than negatives to take from Manchester City’s win and overall performance against Bournemouth. City did dominate possession, and in the second half they restricted Marco Rose’s side to one clear-cut chance. However, there was one other takeaway from City’s win on Sunday.
This Manchester City side will need time to regain their sharpness. Erling Haaland, Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Elliot Anderson and Marc Guehi have all had extremely limited preseasons. Also, Enzo Maresca’s tactics and philosophies aren’t bedded in yet. That will take time to come together. Especially as new signings arrive and settle into life at the FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders.
What is apparent is that Enzo Maresca’s system is taking shape, slowly. It will take time to fully come together but after watching City’s win over Bournemouth, you could see what could potentially be. Especially in the second half.
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