Enzo Maresca's bold decision to deploy Marc Guehi as a holding midfielder on his Premier League debut in charge of Manchester City raised plenty of eyebrows — but ultimately silenced every critic when the centre-back's 84th-minute header helped spark a stunning late comeback against Bournemouth.

City arrived at the Etihad Stadium carrying the weight of a 3-0 Community Shield defeat to champions Arsenal only a week earlier and, for most of Sunday's match, appeared headed toward a second successive loss. At 84 minutes, trailing and struggling, the turnaround looked unlikely. Yet Guehi's towering header and Josko Gvardiol's composed finish completed an improbable victory that shifted the early-season conversation away from struggling rivals Manchester United and Tottenham.

An experiment that worked

The decision to play Guehi — a natural centre-back and former Crystal Palace captain — in the holding midfield role caught observers off-guard even before kick-off, when observers noticed him working through drills with a City coach rather than with the back four. Referee Jarred Gillett's whistle confirmed what many had suspected.

Guehi himself admitted the move came as a surprise. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "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 that midfield was unfamiliar territory, but that generous support from teammates helped him settle: "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."

Maresca, speaking on BBC Match of the Day, revealed he had long believed Guehi could operate centrally: "Marc Guehi has never played as a midfielder, today he was very good, so I am happy with the effort from the players. 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."

Numbers that backed the gamble

Beyond the goal — the 10th Premier League strike of his career — Guehi's statistics made a compelling case for the experiment. He won all three of his tackles, the most of any player on the pitch, completed 94.9 percent of his 59 passes, and won eight of 11 duels. Maresca suggested after the final whistle that Guehi now represents "a solution" in the middle of the park.

Bouaddi deal and City's midfield rebuild

The tactical curiosity came just 50 minutes before kick-off, when BBC Sport reported that City had agreed an £86 million fee to sign 18-year-old Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille. Maresca said he had not yet spoken to the club's decision-makers and was unaware of the deal. Bouaddi is expected to fill a significant void left by the departure of 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri to Barcelona, as well as Tijjani Reijnders' move to Saudi Arabia.

Bouaddi is set to operate in the pivot alongside Elliot Anderson, City's club-record signing, who showed energy and defensive intelligence across an hour on his Premier League debut. Mateo Kovacic, notably, started the match on the bench.

Former City goalkeeper Joe Hart offered perspective on the scale of transition at the club: "I think City look OK. Anderson and Guehi is an interesting one in midfield but that won't be a long-term thing, especially with Bouaddi coming in. That's just where Manchester City are at the moment — they've completely changed everything about themselves but they're still expected to win."

As for Guehi, he was in good spirits when asked where he might line up next week: "Who knows? Maybe up front. We'll see."