'Rayan's impact was unbelievable': Maresca hails Cherki as Man City snatch late win

After coming off the substitutes' bench with Enzo Maresca's Manchester City reign set for fair for its first crisis, he rescued his new manager by setting up the two late goals that brought victory against Bournemouth

Manchester City's Rayan Cherki during a training session.

Man City 2 Bournemouth 1

Rayan Cherki was less than impressed about spending more than an hour in the same role he occupied for France at the World Cup.

After coming off the substitutes' bench with Enzo Maresca's Manchester City reign set for fair for its first crisis, he rescued his new manager by setting up the two late goals that brought victory.

Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol were the beneficiaries of Cherki's craftsmanship, both finding the target in the last six minutes as City came from behind to give Maresca victory and deny Marco Rose a small slither of history in his opening game as Bournemouth boss.

City were struggling to break down the Cherries when Cherki's floated corner found Guehi leaping alone in six-yard box to thrash a header past Dorde Petrovic to cancel out Marcus Tavernier's first-half strike.

A minute into injury-time, the Frenchman found the time and space to free Gvardiol to bury a low shot into the corner, the celebrations only able to start when a VAR check proved that James Hill was playing the Croatian onside.

Maresca said: "Rayan's impact was unbelievable. But he is that kind of player. I like Rayan. I told him that even more after the game!

"I know he was not happy today, but at the end I am here to take decisions. Today was about coming on because we already had four players on the pitch who came back late (from the World Cup) and were physically not too good.

"Rayan is quite a nice and clear boy. If he is not happy he will show you. If he is sat next to me and he's not happy, we all realise very quickly because he does everything to show everyone what he feels."

City's summer transfer business has been chaotic. They spent £116million on Elliot Anderson and have agreed an £85million deal for Lille teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi.

But after allowing Rodri to join Barcelona, the sight of Guehi anchoring the midfield was an admission that City's business has not gone to schedule.

Yet City started on the front foot. Erling Haaland, sporting a new crew-cut haircut, linked well with Phil Foden and his instinctive flick put Rico Lewis clear only for Dorde Petrovic to narrow the angle to save.

Then Rico Lewis outpaced Lewis Cook in a 70-yard dash down the left flank before delivering a cross that Haaland inexplicably allowed to bounce away off his chest.

But Bournemouth took the lead in the 26th minute when Rayan proved too strong for Abdukodir Khusanov to find Evanilson wide on the right and the Brazilian's low first-time cross from the right was perfect for Tavernier to score at the far post.

Haaland saw his header kept out at full stretch by Petrovic, but was inches away from doubling the Cherries' lead with a curling shot from distance before then seeing another measured effort tipped away by Gianlugi Donnarumma then did well to tip away Justin Kluivert's measured shot.

Guehi headed Anderson's corner wide from close range early in the second half, but Maresca was soon compelled to turn to Matheus Nunes, Cherki and Mateo Kovacic.

Antoine Semenyo forced Petrovic into a save and Foden had a shot deflected wide. Then Haaland scuffed a close-range volley too close to Petrovic.

Maresca's final throw of the dice saw him send on Jack Grealish. But Rose, the German who has come in to build on the work done by Andoni Iraola before his summer departure to Liverpool, appeared to be leading his club to their first-ever victory on City soil.

But then City somehow found a way. Rose said: "I'm a competitor and my players are all competitors. We came here for the 10th time to win for the first time, but how the game went at the end was unlucky for us.

"We scored a really nice goal and had some more really good chances.

"In the end, it's about details. Those details cost us the game. It's never done here with the quality of City's players and the stadium. We defended too passively in those moments and that's why we lost the game."

Man City (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma 7; Lewis 6 (Nunes 57, 6), Khusanov 6, Dias 5, Gvardiol 7; Guehi 7; Foden 5 (Grealish 82), Anderson 6 (Kovacic 63, 5), O'Reilly 6 (Cherki 63, 7), Semenyo 6; Haaland 6.

Bournemouth (4-3-2-1): Petrovic 7; Smith 5, Hill 6, Silva 6, Truffert 6; Cook 6 (Adams 76, 5), Scott 7, Rayan 5, Kluivert 6 (Toth 75, 5), Tavernier 6; Evanilson 6 (Jebbison 75, 5).

Referee: J Gillett: 5.