Manchester City marked Enzo Maresca's first home game in charge with a stirring late turnaround, coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium thanks to goals from Marc Guéhi and Josko Gvardiol in the closing stages.
A banner welcoming the new head coach set the tone before kick-off, but for long periods it looked as though Bournemouth's Marco Rose, rather than his City counterpart, would claim the bragging rights. The visitors arrived unbeaten in 18 league matches and looked the sharper side for much of the contest, taking the lead when Marcus Tavernier tapped home from close range after Evanilson picked him out following a driving run from Rayan down the right.
City should have been ahead by that point. Erling Haaland, sporting a freshly cropped haircut, spurned a golden opportunity in the opening minutes when Nico O'Reilly raced clear and squared for him, only for the Norwegian to get his contact wrong. He also went close before the break, forcing a smart save from Djordje Petrovic, but City were made to pay for their profligacy when Tavernier struck.
Maresca had sprung a tactical surprise by using debutant signing Marc Guéhi in a holding midfield role alongside Elliot Anderson, with O'Reilly pushed into a No 10 position and Phil Foden shifted out to the right. The experiment looked shaky for much of the afternoon, with Guéhi even wasting a free header from a corner early in the second half.
Bournemouth continued to threaten after the interval, with Gianluigi Donnarumma required to make fine saves to deny Justin Kluivert and substitute Daniel Jebbison, while Haaland twice failed to convert further chances at the other end. Anderson was forced off with what appeared to be a knee issue midway through the second half, replaced by Mateo Kovacic, while Rayan Cherki came on for O'Reilly in a switch that would prove decisive.
Cherki's introduction transformed the game. With six minutes of normal time remaining, his corner from the right was headed home by Guéhi, with a deflection off Adrien Truffert wrong-footing Petrovic as the ball crept in. Then, deep into stoppage time, Cherki again turned provider, squaring for Gvardiol, who slotted home coolly. The goal was initially chalked off for offside before being awarded following a VAR review, sparking wild celebrations from Maresca and his bench.
Reflecting on the tactical gamble that saw him deployed in midfield, Guéhi said: