Maresca's Manchester City Triumphs in Stoppage Time

Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City reign began the hard way. Then, in stoppage time, it exploded into life.

At the Etihad, City staggered through long spells of their first Premier League game since Pep Guardiola’s departure, trailed for most of the night, and still walked away with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth that felt like a stolen treasure.

Maresca’s late gamble pays off

For over an hour, City looked like a side still blinking into the post-Guardiola light. The questions raised by last weekend’s limp 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield hovered over the stadium and never really went away.

Marcus Tavernier deepened that unease. His first-half strike put Bournemouth in front and exposed City’s lack of cohesion at the back. In attack, they were blunt. Slow. Predictable.

Maresca rolled the dice.

On came Rayan Cherki, the French playmaker handed the task of rescuing a flat opener. The impact was instant and exactly what his manager had hoped for.

“The impact was unbelievable, he is that kind of player,” Maresca said afterwards. “I like Rayan, I told him also after the game, but sometimes when you plan a game and you already have four out of 11 players who arrived late from holidays, if you go with one more maybe the difference is too big.”

This time, the risk was worth it.

With six minutes left, Cherki finally cracked Bournemouth’s resistance, hanging up a perfect cross for Marc Guehi to power home a header for 1-1. The Etihad exhaled. Then roared.

City kept coming. Bournemouth, who had defended with discipline and nerve, suddenly looked trapped in their own box. Deep into stoppage time, Cherki threaded another decisive ball and Josko Gvardiol coolly stroked in the winner.

Maresca wheeled away in relief and celebration. Guardiola’s own City tenure had started with a late home win over Sunderland in 2016. Maresca will cling to the symmetry and hope this dramatic escape proves just as symbolic.

It was far from convincing. But on a day when City badly needed a sign they could still live with the champions, they found a way to win.

Iraola’s Liverpool rescued at the death

Up at St James’ Park, Andoni Iraola’s first game in charge of Liverpool felt less like a fresh dawn and more like a familiar headache.

Liverpool, reshaped after Arne Slot’s sacking, Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor and the arrival of a new investment consortium fronted by Jeff Bezos, showed the same defensive fragility that undermined Slot’s tenure. Newcastle did not need a second invitation.

Anthony Elanga struck in the first half, punishing Liverpool’s looseness without the ball. Cody Gakpo’s equaliser early in the second half steadied Iraola’s side, but the control never truly followed.

Joe Willock, without a Premier League goal since 2024, stepped up to restore Newcastle’s lead, and the noise inside St James’ Park told its own story. Liverpool looked vulnerable every time Newcastle surged forward.

Yet they refused to fold.

Deep into stoppage time, Victor Munoz drew a foul from Lewis Hall in the area. The decision infuriated Newcastle and their new manager Matthais Jaissle, who labelled it “a very soft penalty”. The VAR check did not save them.

Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up with the last kick of the game and buried the spot-kick. 2-2. Iraola spared a debut defeat, just.

“It’s the result you want, scoring in the last minute. I value that the players never gave up,” Iraola said. “I’m sure we had more chances, it’s unfair they’re winning very early and overall, I think we’ve had the better chances.

“We were probably in the first half not finishing anything, we had a lot of balls on the edge but we needed to shoot. We don’t finish play and then they win on the counter-attack.”

Encouraging resilience. Alarming openness. Liverpool’s new era has started with both.

Brighton punish Villa’s exodus

If City and Liverpool lived on the edge, Brighton simply tore through Aston Villa.

At the Amex Stadium, Jack Hinshelwood scored twice in two minutes as Brighton dismantled the Europa League winners 4-0, ruthlessly exposing a Villa squad stripped of key figures.

Unai Emery arrived on the south coast without a recognised striker, with Ollie Watkins the subject of intense transfer speculation and absent from the squad. Emiliano Martinez was also missing, with reports suggesting he too could follow Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Morgan Rogers out of the club.

Villa looked hollowed out. Brighton smelled blood.

Victor Lindelof’s disastrous own goal opened the door, and Maxim De Cuyper’s close-range finish pushed it wide open. From there, Villa crumbled.

Hinshelwood’s quickfire double killed the contest and left Emery’s side stunned. Any hopes of a response vanished just before half-time when Joao Gomes, making his league debut, was sent off to complete a nightmare afternoon.

On a day defined by new beginnings, Brighton’s ruthless clarity stood in stark contrast to Villa’s uncertainty, City’s nerves and Liverpool’s chaos.

The season has only just started, but the questions for England’s heavyweights are already piling up.