Gvardiol nets injury-time winner as Maresca’s Man City come from behind to beat Bournemouth
Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City came from behind late to win their first Premier League game in charge against Bournemouth on 23 August 2026, Josko Gvardiol scoring a cool injury-time winner after Rayan Cherki provided two assists after coming on.
It was also Marco Rose’s managerial debut for Bournemouth, and BBC Sport published individual player ratings for both sides following the match. Marc Guehi scored a late equaliser during the game, while Gianluigi Donnarumma produced several key saves despite being unable to stop Bournemouth’s opener.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was rated 6, with BBC Sport saying he could do nothing about Bournemouth's opener but made superb saves to deny Justin Kluivert's low effort and Daniel Jebbison's flicked header. Rico Lewis received a 5 after inverting into midfield from right-back, getting forward early but lacking quality overall before being taken off. Abdukodir Khusanov was given a 5 after missing a challenge on Rayan in the lead-up to Bournemouth's first goal and failing to recover to stop the effort.
Ruben Dias was rated 5 and was noted as culpable for conceding the opener by failing to get his head on a long ball over the top. Josko Gvardiol earned a 7, described as having been nowhere to be seen for Bournemouth's goal before popping up to score a cool injury-time winner. Marc Guehi was rated 6 and was described as playing in an unfamiliar holding midfield role but managing to score a late equaliser.
Elliot Anderson received a 6 for covering plenty of ground and snuffing out danger; Antoine Semenyo was given a 5 after failing to exert his influence; Nico O'Reilly earned a 5 after creating few notable opportunities and being taken off on the hour; Phil Foden was rated 5 after a bright early showing that faded; Erling Haaland was given a 5 with BBC Sport noting he missed a sitter from a couple of yards out in the first half and had further poor efforts in the second.
City substitutes were rated as follows: Matheus Nunes (on 56, Lewis) 5 with nothing noteworthy; Rayan Cherki (on 62, O'Reilly) 8, credited with changing the game and providing two assists; Mateo Kovacic (on 62, Anderson) 5; Jack Grealish (on 82, Foden) 5. Subs not used for City were listed as Rulli, Marmoush, Gonzalez, Ait-Nouri and Reis.
Bournemouth's Djordje Petrovic was rated 6 after a diving save at full stretch denied both Haaland and Semenyo but he was beaten late on by Guehi and Gvardiol. Adam Smith earned a 6 and was described as keeping Semenyo under control; Antonio Silva received a 7 for looking comfortable as a ball-playing centre-half and was yellow-carded for dissent; James Hill was given a 6 for a solid performance in the heart of defence. Alex Scott was rated 8 for composure on the ball, Lewis Cook 7 for a hardworking display, Marcus Tavernier 8 for coolly converting the opener, Justin Kluivert 6 for causing City problems, Rayan 7 for being full of running, and Evanilson 6 after being booked.
Bournemouth substitutes were rated Tyler Adams (on 75, Cook) 5, Daniel Jebbison (on 75, Evanilson) 6 after forcing Donnarumma into a good save, Alex Toth (on 75, Kluivert) 5 and Ben Gannon-Doak (on 89, Rayan) 5; subs not used were Dennis, Brooks, Diakite, Sanchez and Rodriguez. After the opportunity to rate players had closed, BBC Sport stated the score displayed represents the average from all user submissions, and Rayan Cherki will now be hoping to start on Friday at Crystal Palace.
