Maresca admits he still lacks a settled Man City XI after opening-day win over Bournemouth

Enzo Maresca has admitted he does not yet know his best Manchester City starting eleven, despite the Blues opening their Premier League season with a dramatic comeback victory over Bournemouth on Sunday.

City trailed before Marc Guehi headed in a late equaliser and Josko Gvardiol netted a stoppage-time winner to seal a 2-1 result. Yet the manner of the performance left Maresca candid about the work still ahead. “Day by day I can see more clearly, but at the moment I don’t have yet an ideal eleven players,” the City head coach said.

The most eye-catching element of Maresca’s selection was Guehi, signed from Crystal Palace, being fielded in central midfield alongside Elliot Anderson, with Nico O’Reilly in an advanced role. Rico Lewis started at right back, Phil Foden ahead of him — a combination that struggled defensively — and Matheus Nunes was introduced in the second half. Rayan Cherki, notably absent from the starting lineup, came on for the final quarter and contributed two assists.

Maresca explained his thinking on Guehi’s unfamiliar role: “It’s just in this moment it is important to find solutions. I know Marc from Palace and I always thought he could be a good midfielder. We tried him the first two days of the week after Arsenal as a central defender stepping in, and in the last two days we tried him as a proper midfielder — and overall I think it was a good performance.”

The City manager was careful not to overcommit to the experiment becoming permanent. “It is a solution. I don’t know if we will do it for the next game,” he said. “We need different solutions, so when you visualise it and it is good, in the future when you need it, you know he is going to be good there.”

Maresca also stressed the selection was driven by tactical logic rather than transfer activity. “It is not linked to if we buy players or don’t buy players. We planned to win the game and the idea was to have more physicality in the middle.”

With six first-team players only returning to training ten days ago and further transfer business expected before the window closes, Maresca acknowledged City remain a side in transition. The opening-day three points will have eased some pressure, but the head coach’s own words make clear that a settled, coherent lineup is still some way off.