Erling Haaland's landmark 300th career club goal proved enough for Manchester City to edge past a spirited Coventry side 1-0, with new signing Enzo Fernández making an eye-catching first appearance for his new club at the Etihad Stadium.
Fernández, who joined from Chelsea for a British record-equalling £125m on deadline day, was only handed a place in the starting XI after Nico O'Reilly picked up a back injury in the warm-up. The Argentine wasted little time justifying his price tag, playing a slide-rule pass to Antoine Semenyo, whose cross was headed home—via a Rushworth save that Haaland eventually beat—for the Norwegian's third goal in as many league games and the 300th of his club career.
The goal arrived in the 26th minute after Coventry had threatened an early shock. Abdukodir Khusanov's sloppy back-pass nearly gifted the visitors an opener when it slipped under Gianluigi Donnarumma's foot, though the goalkeeper recovered in time to hack the ball clear. Taiwo Awoniyi then spurned a glorious chance to give Coventry a historic lead, firing wide after intercepting a misplaced Semenyo pass.
Once City settled, they dominated large spells of the first half, with Rayan Cherki repeatedly troubling the Coventry defence, including an effort that struck the post. Haaland also tested Rushworth twice more before the breakthrough finally came.
Coventry, playing their first Premier League season in a generation, continued to search for a first top-flight goal since Mustapha Hadji's strike against Aston Villa in May 2001. Jack Rudoni went closest with a close-range header well saved by Donnarumma, while Ellis Simms forced another excellent stop from the Italian goalkeeper late on as the visitors pushed for an equaliser that never came.
Despite the defeat—their third in as many league games since promotion—Coventry manager Frank Lampard felt his side deserved more from the contest. "I don't think we deserved to lose. I'm disappointed we didn't get what we deserved – which was a point. We can walk out of here with our heads held extremely high," he said.
City boss Enzo Maresca, who worked with Fernández during their time together at Chelsea, acknowledged the win was not straightforward. "Today was not a nice win, a bit ugly," he said. "In the first half we deserved more goals – we scored one but could have scored one or two more." He also explained the late change that thrust Fernández into the side, adding: "The reason Enzo was on the bench was because he arrived only a few days ago. I know how frustrating it was for him in the last weeks but in the end he played some minutes and was quite good."
Alongside Fernández, £60m arrival Iliman Ndiaye also made his City debut, showing flashes of the trickery that persuaded the club to sign him, completing more dribbles than any other player on the pitch. Maresca, however, felt the Senegalese forward still has adjustments to make. "Ili just had two sessions with us – most of the time he was moving in the wrong way, he needs to learn," the manager said, adding that space in the final third was intended for full-back Josko Gvardiol rather than Ndiaye dropping deep.
Fernández was withdrawn after 76 minutes for fellow new signing Ayyoub Bouaddi, who impressed on his home debut as Coventry pressed for a leveller. Elliot Anderson was named man of the match, completing 143 of 155 passes, with Maresca praising the midfielder's development since his summer move from Nottingham Forest. Lampard, too, spoke highly of Anderson, calling him "a really good player" with "good brain, everything you need in a midfield player."
The win keeps City perfect through their opening league fixtures, though question marks remain over Donnarumma's distribution after his early scare, even as his shot-stopping proved decisive in preserving the narrow victory.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football, BBC Sport Football, and Standard Football.