Enzo Maresca might have been expected to keep his head down and not make any curious team selections in his first Premier League game in-charge of Manchester City. Instead, he made the surprising decision to field Marc Guehi in a holding role and, eventually, it turned into a midfield masterstroke.
All the heat prior to kick-off had been on rivals Manchester United and free-spending Tottenham following their demoralising opening game defeats but for 84 minutes on Sunday, that unwanted focus looked set to shift to Etihad Stadium.
City had suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat by champions Arsenal in the Community Shield last Sunday and were heading towards back-to-back defeats to start the season.
But a late rescue act courtesy of a towering header from Guehi – who all the attention was on – and Josko Gvardiol’s cool finish salvaged an unlikely comeback victory against Bournemouth.
Eyebrows were raised before kick-off when Maresca decided to fielded a team consisting of six players that can play as defenders, but the serious questions cropped up during the warm-up.
With the back four going through their routines with a City coach, it appeared England centre-back Guehi would be deployed as holding midfielder. When referee Jarred Gillett blew his whistle to start proceedings, it became clear that this was the reality.
But instead of the story being about Guehi being played out of position, the former Crystal Palace skipper scored to help switch the narrative to it being an Ingenious move from the new manager.
Pundits and supporters were taken aback by the switch in position and so too was the player himself.
Guehi told Sky Sports: “It was just an idea the manager had, we worked on it in the week. We’re trying different things, trying different solutions for the team.
“I’m glad today it paid off in the end.”
He also told BBC Sport he had not played in midfield too often, adding: “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.”
Boss Maresca told BBC Match of the Day: “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.”
