For match-winner Josko Gvardiol, the "most important thing" for Manchester City was to win their Premier League season-opener against Bournemouth.

City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in their first league game under Enzo Maresca, with Gvardiol scoring a dramatic 91st-minute goal to seal the win. 

After Bournemouth deservedly took the lead in the 26th minute through Marcus Tavernier's close-range finish, the Citizens wasted numerous chances, with Marc Guehi and Erling Haaland coming close.

With the Cherries heading towards a first-ever victory at the Etihad, Guehi – who was deployed in midfield – nodded in an equaliser before Gvardiol sent the home supporters wild. 

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

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Gvardiol said: "Everyone is proud in the moment; it's the opening game of the season, and we know how important it is, especially with all the changes we've had in the previous weeks.

"We need to enjoy this, we deserve it, and I'm happy with the three points."

Reflecting on his late heroics, the Croatia international added: "To be fair, I was quite sure I was onside, but it's difficult; in that moment, you are just waiting to see the referee's reaction. I am glad, in the end, it's a goal.

"Every game is important, especially here in England. I would say the most important thing is that we won. There is another game, Crystal Palace away, which is going to be difficult as well."

Starting with a WIN!

2-1 @okx pic.twitter.com/KtE2hirCfk

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 23, 2026

For Bournemouth boss Marco Rose, it was a cruel blow after his side were minutes away from recording history in his first competitive game in charge.

Bournemouth saw an 18-match unbeaten streak in the league come to an end as they lost a top-flight game in which they led at half-time for only the second time in the last 36 instances (W25 D9), after November 2025 (2-3).

Speaking to BBC Sport, Rose said: "It's really disappointing. At the end, we needed to finish the game. We had many good moments, we suffered, we found triggers to win balls, we had chances.

"We reacted well to difficult phases of the game. But, at the end, we had two situations where we defended not well enough. One corner kick where we got blocked and one situation we were just too passive around our box.

"It is what it is. I saw some really good efforts and the basics were all good. We now have to work on details to win these kinds of games away.

"It's always difficult here because you know how good they are in possession. We did many things in the right way, but in the end maybe it was a question of power.

"But if you see the clock ticking, and it's five minutes to go, you need to stay active. You need to go forward and put them in uncomfortable situations. These are things we are going to speak about, and we will try to do it better next time.

"All in all, it was a good away game from us. But you want to make your fans happy. We didn't do that, but we will do it in the next games."