Manchester City scores twice late to defeat Bournemouth in Premier League opener

Manchester City trailed Bournemouth for 58 minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Then they did what Manchester City does.

A Marc Guéhi equalizer in the 84th minute and a Josko Gvardiol winner in the 91st minute gave City a 2-1 victory in their 2026/27 Premier League opener. The 60,605 fans in attendance got their money’s worth, assuming they stayed past the 80th minute.

Bournemouth’s early punch

Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring in the 26th minute, finishing off an assist from Evanilson to give the visitors a lead that felt increasingly uncomfortable for City as the half wore on.

The second half followed a similar pattern for long stretches. Bournemouth sat deep, invited pressure, and dealt with it competently. The clock ticked past 70 minutes, past 75, and the visiting bench started to sense something historic: an opening-day smash and grab at the Etihad.

They were six minutes away from pulling it off.

Guéhi and Gvardiol turn the match on its head

The breakthrough came in the 84th minute when Rayan Cherki delivered a cross from the flank that found Guéhi, whose header leveled the match at 1-1.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Gvardiol found the net to make it 2-1, completing a six-minute turnaround. The Croatian defender’s goal was City’s second from a center-back in the space of seven minutes.

What this result tells us about City’s season

Rayan Cherki’s assist on the equalizer signals that the French midfielder is ready to contribute immediately. His cross for Guéhi was precise, weighted to arrive at head height in the corridor between the goalkeeper and the retreating defensive line.

For Bournemouth, Tavernier’s goal was well-constructed, and the defensive shape held for far longer than most teams manage at the Etihad. The problem is that Bournemouth left Manchester with nothing to show for a performance that lasted 58 minutes in the lead.

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