MANCHESTER: Enzo Maresca admits Manchester City are still in the process of being built after their dramatic late victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium last night.
Marc Guehi’s equaliser in the 85th minute and Josko Gvardiol’s winner in the 91st minute gave the new City manager victory in his first match, after Marcus Tavernier had put the visitors ahead in the first half.
Maresca felt his team performed almost the same as when they lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield match last week.
“I feel the same as after the game against Arsenal. Normally, you judge by the results but I don’t see much change.
“Unfortunately, this is still in the process of formation and I am looking for a solution. Of course, when you win matches, it helps.
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“When it comes to the Premier League, it’s impossible not to concede goals. The goal we conceded was their first attempt.
“They had two or three dangerous situations, but the important thing is how you react. We still have [Erling] Haaland, Elliot [Anderson], Marc [Guehi] and Nico O’Reilly, who are still in the pre-season phase.
“It makes a big difference physically and we will get better,” said the Italian coach.
Before the match started, City unveiled a giant banner or tifo featuring Maresca’s face with the message “Welcome back Enzo”.
“It was a perfect day. I was so happy to see the banner when the game started. We gave the fans joy at the end of the game.
“It was quite emotional. The team spirit was incredible. It was a game we deserved to win, but we didn’t have to wait until the last five minutes.
“We missed a few chances, then they scored and things got more complicated,” he said.
Maresca also played Guehi in the middle position, which is not the usual position for the player concerned.
“I knew Marc when he was at Crystal Palace and I always felt he could play as a midfielder because he’s a really good player.
“We tried him for a few days and I thought he performed quite well. He gives us another option for the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marco Rose is close to making his first start with Bournemouth by recording the club’s first win at City.
“We are competitors and we came here to win for the first time. We are on a good track to do it.
“However, we did a lot of things well. We still have a lot of things to improve. In the end, the way the game went, it was a bit unfortunate to lose like that.
“We had two situations, one through a corner kick and another through an attacking move, when we defended too passively.
“We need to defend better from corners and the second goal was also too passive.
“We always try to press forward and want to defend higher. Here, you have to find the right time to apply pressure and it’s difficult.
“We did very well until the end of the game,” said the German coach.