Manchester City

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport reported earlier this week that Manchester City and Lille were in advanced talks over a deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi to move to Etihad Stadium.

An agreement for the 18-year-old to join Enzo Maresca's side is now in place, with Bouaddi set to complete his protracted move to England - Lille accepting an initial fee of £81.4m, plus £4.2m in add-ons.

Bouaddi impressed at this summer's World Cup - starting five of Morocco's six matches in their run to the quarter-finals - after a starring role in Lille's Champions League victory over Real Madrid in 2024 announced him on the big stage.

He functions as a deep-lying conductor and would complement Elliot Anderson, who is comfortable as a box-to-box midfielder as well as the number six role he plays for England.

Making his debut in October 2023 - three days after his 16th birthday - Bouaddi has played 88 times for Lille and helped them finish third in Ligue 1 last season.

He broke a record held by Eden Hazard after making 50 league appearances for Lille at the age of just 18.

Manchester City are ready to meet Chelsea's asking price for Enzo Fernandez, with the Blues wanting £120m for the 25-year-old Argentina midfielder. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Manchester City starting XI:

Gianluigi Donnarumma: Could do nothing about Bournemouth's opener but made superb saves to deny Justin Kluivert's low effort and Daniel Jebbison's flicked header. 6

Rico Lewis: Inverting into midfield from right-back, Lewis got forward and had an early effort saved but lacked quality overall before being taken off. 5

Abdukodir Khusanov: Missed a challenge on Rayan in the lead-up to Bournemouth's first goal and could not recover to stop the effort. 5

Ruben Dias: The new captain was culpable when conceding the opener too, failing to get his head on a long ball over the top. 5

Josko Gvardiol: Better at left-back or in the centre? Whatever the case, the Croatian was nowhere to be seen for Bournemouth's goal before popping up to score a cool injury time winner. 7

Marc Guehi: The England defender played in an unfamiliar holding midfield role but managed to score a late equaliser. With Ayyoub Bouaddi incoming, this experiment might only last one game. 6

Elliot Anderson: Club record signing Anderson showed glimpses of what he will bring to his new side, covering plenty of ground and often snuffing out the danger. 6

Antoine Semenyo: Looked bright in pre-season but unable to exert his influence on this game. 5

Nico O'Reilly: Deployed in the number 10 role, the England international created few opportunities of note and was taken off on the hour mark. 5

Phil Foden: Bright in the early stages, seeing plenty of the ball and playing a delightful flick for Lewis' chance but faded away. 5

Erling Haaland: Sporting a fresh new trim, the Norway striker somehow missed a sitter from a couple of yards out in the first half, while blazing over and scuffing another wide in the second. Has he lost his superpowers after chopping off his blonde locks? 5

Manchester City substitutes:

Matheus Nunes (on 56, Lewis): Nothing noteworthy. 5

Rayan Cherki (on 62, O'Reilly): Came on and changed the game for City. Provided two assists and will now be hoping to start on Friday at Crystal Palace. 8

Mateo Kovacic (on 62, Anderson): Should he have started in midfield instead of Guehi? 5

Jack Grealish (on 82, Foden): 5

Subs not used: Rulli, Marmoush, Gonzalez, Ait-Nouri, Reis

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City showed improvement from the side who were bashed 3-0 by Arsenal in last Sunday's Community Shield - but for most of this game it looked as if Enzo Maresca was going to start with consecutive defeats.

Replacing a legend is always difficult - as David Moyes experienced when Sir Alex Ferguson left neighbours Manchester United in 2013 - and the late comeback will come as a major relief in their first Premier League game without Pep Guardiola in a decade.

City did not exactly promote from within when hiring Maresca, who quit as Chelsea manager at the start of 2026, but the Italian was Guardiola's City assistant in 2022-23 and would perhaps be seen as something of a continuity candidate.

It was a very shaky start though and they went 1-0 down at home on the opening day of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 1995-96 - the season they ended up being relegated.

Maresca's team selection confused many, with six players who have played most of their City games in defence starting on Sunday - including Guehi in midfield.

But all's well that ends well and Guehi looked as if he had rescued a point before defender Gvardiol added two more from another Cherki pass.

Things would have been more comfortable if Haaland had brought his shooting boots.

The Norwegian has scored 22 goals in 14 Premier League games in the month of August - but failed to take any of his five chances.

Enzo Maresca spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Manchester City's victory against Bournemouth: "Happy first of all because we won the game. I think it was actually a game we deserved to win early because we controlled the game and we created chances. Before the goal we conceded we had three or four clear chances and we missed. We conceded and it became more complicated but overall I think it was a game we completely deserved to win.

"Today we had four or five players that arrived very late, 10 days ago. For them it is still almost pre-season. Erling [Haaland] is one of them, Elliot [Anderson], Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly, you know, we had four or five. It's complicated for them but they have made a huge effort to help the team. Even Marc Guehi has never played as a midfielder, today he was very good, so I am happy with the effort from the players.

"Sometimes you visualise things. I know Marc from Palace and I always thought he could play as a midfielder because he is very good. So we tried it for a few days and I think he was quite good.

"This is what we need. We need the first XI starting in the right way and we need the other five changes going in the right way. Today the five changes I think they were very good."

On Manchester City agreeing a deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi: "I will speak now with the club after the press conference."

On any other new signings: "We will see, it's eight days to go. For sure something is going to happen."

Josko Gvardiol spoke to MOTD: "We did well. There was a lot of chances we created early on before they even got the first goal. After, I feel like it was a good reaction. I'm super proud of everyone and proud of the fans for sticking with us. That's the spirit we need to have every single game, right until the end until the referee blows his whistle."

Has he played in midfield before? "Not often. But I enjoyed it today. I enjoyed it simply because I got so much help from so many people. When you have that you feel comfortable to just go out and play and do what you can for the team."

On missing one headed chance but scoring another: "That's life. Sometimes it's really good, sometimes it's not really good. When things don't go your way you have to just keep going. That was the theme of today, keep going right until the end.

"We play for Manchester City, there's always going to be scrutiny whether we win or lose, there's always going to be something. We're not daft, we understand there is a lot of change at the football club. A new manager, a lot of important players have left, a lot of new players are coming in. The most important thing is that we keep our standards high. We know the expectation we have."

Listen to more from Enzo Maresca on BBC Sounds here

Did you know?

• Manchester City have won on matchday one in 15 of the last 16 Premier League seasons, failing only in 2021-22 (0-1 defeat v Tottenham Hotspur).

• City won this game despite trailing in the 84th minute – the latest they have trailed a Premier League home game that they went on to win since the final day of their title-winning 2011-12 campaign against QPR (trailing in 92nd min).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Man City's performance

What did you make of Bournemouth's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are three games in the Premier League on Sunday as the opening weekend continues, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brighton v Aston Villa - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Man City v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Liverpool (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Brighton v Aston Villa" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Newcastle match", for example.

How to follow the opening Premier League weekend across the BBC

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

A lot of people have been putting the boot into Manchester City after their performance in the Community Shield.

I don't think they will win the Premier League, but they aren't going to fall away to mid-table either. Look at the players they have got - I still think they will be right up there.

I'm expecting Bournemouth to be very attack-minded under Marco Rose, after watching his teams at RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.

He is a front-foot coach but, in his first game, will he really be brave enough try to go toe-to-toe with City at Etihad Stadium?

I think he will and, because of that, I think there will be goals... but most of them will be scored by City.

Sutton's prediction: 4-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Enzo Maresca takes charge of Manchester City in a Premier League match for the first time since succeeding Pep Guardiola as his side face a Bournemouth team who are also led by a new boss themselves in Marco Rose. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes going into their opening-weekend encounter.

For the first time since May 2016 someone other than Guardiola leads City into a Premier League season.

The post-Guardiola world under successor Maresca got off to an inauspicious start with a Community Shield humbling by rivals Arsenal.

The departure of the imperious Rodri to Barcelona this week was a blow to Maresca's planning for the season and another hit to the squad's leadership group that has already lost John Stones and Bernardo Silva during a real summer of change at the Etihad.

The three of them could boast a combined 1,053 appearances for City and 47 trophies between them during Guardiola's golden era in charge.

With Tijjani Reijnders having also left this week, new £116m signing Elliot Anderson currently looks a little lonely in central midfield. But he might not be alone for long with teen sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi set to arrive for £85m and rumours surrounding Enzo Fernandez joining from Chelsea still circulating.

After such a testing time against Arsenal, Bournemouth appear to be ideal opponents for City to face first up. They have won all nine of their Premier League home matches against the Cherries by an aggregate score of 34-6 - which works out at an average of a remarkable 3.8 goals per game.

It is not just City that are in flux after bidding farewell to a record-breaking boss.

While Maresca has huge shoes to fill, new Bournemouth boss Rose has a daunting job of his own to replicate the impact Andoni Iraola had at Vitality Stadium.

Under the Spaniard, they first equalled the highest league position in the club's history and then surpassed it last season by finishing sixth.

They also broke their points tally for a top-flight campaign in both of the past two campaigns with the cherry on top being a place in Europe for the first time.

Rose's first task is a daunting one as they look to extend their club record 18-match unbeaten run in the top flight - set under Iraola - to a ground they have never won at before.

The stats certainly seem to suggest Rose is a natural fit to replace Iraola. Bournemouth topped last season's Premier League for direct attacks (83) and for goals scored from direct attacks with six. During Rose's two and a half years in charge of RB Leipzig his side sat top of the Bundesliga rankings for direct attacks (192) and joint-top for direct attack goals (20).

Things have been positive, albeit a touch quiet, on the transfer ins over the summer but, most importantly, they have so far kept hold of star players Alex Scott and Eli Junior Kroupi, albeit the latter is out until November with a fractured metatarsal.

The obvious threat Bournemouth must look out for, of course, is Erling Haaland. His remarkable tally of 22 goals in 14 Premier League appearances in the month of August have come at an average of one every 54 minutes.

Image source, BBC Sport

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City were the BBC predictors' pre-season favourites in eight out of their 10 seasons under Pep Guardiola from 2016 onwards, and were champions six times during that period. But before their first campaign with Enzo Maresca in charge, only 12% (3/26) think they will reclaim the title.

Shay Given - Prediction: 1st

I don't think Pep leaving means we will see what happened when Sir Alex Ferguson left United. Instead, I am expecting the opposite, because of a fresh voice in the dressing room. These players have not won the Premier League in two years so they will be hungry for success. City will be number one.

Chris Sutton - Prediction: 2nd

There's no doubt the pressure will be on Maresca from the off, and replacing Rodri is nigh on impossible. They are in for Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi, who is a talented player but he is 18, and would be a massive gamble.

Troy Deeney - Prediction: 3rd.

My prediction for City is not based off what happened in the Community Shield, it is based off what I saw with Enzo Maresca at Leicester and Chelsea.

I am not sure he has got that ability to really demand what he wants. Pep has taught all these coaches, but only Mikel Arteta has tweaked it and kind of said: "I am going to use all the principles, but this is my way of doing it."

I don't want to be disrespectful, but Maresca is a BTEC version of Guardiola. He plays a certain way and has no other way of dealing with it. You saw on Sunday how bad City were defensively, but all of his teams are wide open, and he is still doing that now, even with better players - top-class players.

Premier League predictions 2026-27: BBC Sport pundits pick their top four

Image source, Getty Images

The Commentators' View trio of John Murray, Ian Dennis and Ali Bruce-Ball have been previewing the new Premier League season as they return for series three of their podcast.

Murray asked his co-hosts: "What is it that is most capturing your imagination about the season of Premier League commentary that lies ahead?"

Dennis responded: "After watching the Community Shield, Arsenal have already laid down a marker.

"I remember the time when Erling Haaland made his debut in the Community Shield at the King Power in Leicester and people were quick to jump to conclusions because he made nine touches or something like that.

"He soon put that to bed but Manchester City, on the evidence of the 90 minutes in Cardiff, didn't look quite up to speed - but that is maybe not surprising given players are still coming back from the World Cup and might not have got the minutes in from pre-season.

"To have lost Pep Guardiola would have been impactful enough, but to have now lost Rodri, as well as Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake - all of that experience - is a massive change for City.

"We'll have to see what happens between now and the end of the transfer window."

After Bruce-Ball agreed about Arsenal's strength, Dennis added: "You could also argue that Liverpool will be in transition this season as well given a new manager in Andoni Iraola.

"There's also no Mo Salah so potentially I'm thinking, could Manchester United look to take advantage of that and be the closest rivals to Arsenal given the impact that Michael Carrick had at the end of last season?"

Murray replied: "The thing I'm most looking forward to is exactly that - to see which one of those teams is going to be able to make a fast start when there's been so much change at so many different clubs."

Listen to the full episode of The Commentators' View on BBC Sounds

Flora Snelson
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Bournemouth at the Etihad (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jeremy Doku is the only player who will miss the visit of Bournemouth and he will be out for two or three weeks.

• Maresca said it is "complicated" to convince players, like Rodri, to stay at the club once they express a wish to leave - as Savinho did since his first day as manager.

• He noted that, with the exception of Rodri, what all of the departing players have in common is a lack of playing time.

• Asked again about links with Enzo Fernandez, Maresca would only comment that he is a Chelsea player and therefore not for him to speak of.

• He said he is not worried about City getting their transfer business done before the deadline.

• Maresca said: "The reason I'm here is because I want to try and win titles and carry on what this club stands for in the last 15 years. We are a club where we cannot wait for time to compete."

• People at the club have told Maresca that Phil Foden is "a completely different player" than he has been in the last one or two seasons, in terms of mood and training performance.

• He said it's good that Foden can compete with Rayan Cherki as competition is vital to a strong team.

• On whether he would like to replace some of the experience that has left his squad over the summer: "When players are good, they are good. I don't mind the age."

• When a reporter suggested that he was handed 'a hospital pass', joining a club where everything is changing, Maresca emphasised that it was "a privilege" to be there: "I'm convinced that we can achieve something important. Now it's normal that it's not something magic - day after day, it's something to build. And we're going to build."

Hit play above to hear more from Maresca or listen on BBC Sounds here

You can listen to full commentary of Man City v Bournemouth on BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Man City? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Enzo Maresca faces the media for the first time before taking charge of a Premier League game for Manchester City and the manager has plenty to ponder.

The Italian suffered a chastening opening game as his City side were humbled 3-0 by champions Arsenal in the Community Shield last week.

Maresca has not had much time to work with the players that returned late following the World Cup and it looks like being a busy time during the remaining days in the transfer window.

Savinho and Omar Marmoush both look like they will be joining Tottenham and there are question marks over the future of midfielder Nico Gonzalez.

It means there will be incomings, with City seemingly closing in on the signing of Lille's Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and holding an interest in Bournemouth's Alex Scott as well as Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister.

How many will leave and how many will come in? Let's wait and see if Maresca gives anything away.