Cherki turns provider twice as City rescue Maresca’s debut with two late goals

Manchester City scored twice from the 84th minute to beat Bournemouth 2-1 and give Enzo Maresca a winning start as Pep Guardiola’s successor. Brighton scored four inside 31 minutes to thrash Aston Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2 after a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty nine minutes into stoppage time, and Brentford beat Tottenham 3-0 in their Premier League 2026-27 openers.

Manchester, England: For 84 minutes, the first Premier League afternoon of the post-Guardiola era at the Etihad was going badly.

Bournemouth led through Marcus Tavernier’s 26th-minute goal, and Enzo Maresca’s City could not find a way through. Erling Haaland misjudged a good chance in the first half. The passing was tidy and the end product was not.

Then substitute Rayan Cherki changed the picture.

Two Assists, One Substitute

Cherki’s corner in the 84th minute picked out Marc Guehi, who rose above the Bournemouth defence to head City level. Two minutes into stoppage time he threaded a pass for Josko Gvardiol to bundle in from close range.

The winner went to VAR for a lengthy offside check before being awarded. When it was, the Etihad erupted, and Maresca had won his home debut as the man who replaced Guardiola after a decade in charge.

Brighton Do It in Half an Hour

The other early kick-off was over almost before it started. Brighton scored four goals in the opening 31 minutes at the Amex and could have had more.

Victor Lindelof turned a cross into his own net in the eighth minute, Maxim De Cuyper made it two on 18, and Jack Hinshelwood scored in consecutive minutes either side of the half-hour. Villa’s afternoon then got worse still: Joao Gomes was sent off in the 40th minute for kicking out at Georginio Rutter.

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Remarkably, Brighton did not score again against ten men. The 4-0 scoreline was already emphatic enough, and it caps a wretched build-up for Unai Emery, whose summer has seen Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa depart amid speculation over Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez. Brighton, sharper for having played European qualifiers in midweek, looked a division above.

Szoboszlai Rescues Liverpool at the Death

The evening fixture went to the very last kick. Anthony Elanga put Newcastle ahead inside five minutes at St James’ Park, and after Cody Gakpo levelled in the 55th, Joe Willock restored the lead two minutes later.

Liverpool spent the last half-hour chasing it and got their reward nine minutes into stoppage time, Dominik Szoboszlai converting a penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw. Both sides begin the season with a point.

Brentford Take Three

Earlier, at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford beat Tottenham 3-0. Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring in the 12th minute, Vitaly Janelt doubled it on 33, and Michael Kayode added a third four minutes into the second half.

Where the Round Stands

Matchweek 1 concludes on Monday evening when Fulham host Chelsea. Before that, Saturday had already delivered a shock of its own, with newly promoted Hull City beating Manchester United 2-0, while defending champions Arsenal opened with a 3-0 win over Coventry on Friday.

Results — Premier League 2026-27, Matchweek 1 (Sunday)
Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa (Lindelof 8′ og, De Cuyper 18′, Hinshelwood 30′, 31′) — Red card: Joao Gomes (Aston Villa) 40′
Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth (Guehi 84′, Gvardiol 90+1′; Tavernier 26′)
Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool (Elanga 5′, Willock 57′; Gakpo 55′, Szoboszlai 90+9′ pen)
Brentford 3-0 Tottenham (Lewis-Potter 12′, Janelt 33′, Kayode 49′)