Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Elliot Anderson was substituted during the 2-1 win over Bournemouth due to cramp, not a hamstring injury. The summer signing went down in the second half after a collision with Alex Scott but was able to walk off, replaced by Mateo Kovacic.
Maresca eases fears over Anderson's fitness
Speaking after the match, Maresca told reporters: 'I think it was cramp. We still have four or five players that are not 100 per cent and he is one of them.' He later added in his post-match press conference: 'Today we had four or five players that arrived very late, 10 days ago, so for them it's almost still pre-season. Erling [Haaland] is one, Elliot, Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly, so it's complicated. But they've done a huge effort to help.'
Anderson, who joined City in a record-breaking £116million transfer from Nottingham Forest, started his first league game for the club. The midfielder, who started every game bar one for England at the World Cup, was making his competitive debut after a shortened pre-season.
City's dramatic comeback
City were on course to lose their first Premier League match under Maresca after Marcus Tavernier gave Bournemouth a shock lead at the Etihad. Maresca's tactics, which included defender Marc Guehi playing in midfield, initially struggled to break down the visitors. However, Guehi equalised late on, and Joško Gvardiol scored in injury time to snatch all three points.
The win comes after a humiliating defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield on Maresca's debut, making the comeback all the more important for the new manager.
Anderson's performance praised
Despite the early exit, Maresca was full of praise for Anderson's display. 'He was very good. Elliot was very good on the ball, very good off the ball. I have a good feeling with Elliot that he's going to be better and better. Again, for him this was like pre-season. He arrived 10 days ago but the feeling with him is that he's going to be very good for this club in the future.'
City face a quick turnaround with a trip to Crystal Palace on Friday night. The club's midfield is being rebuilt following the departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Tijjani Reijnders, and reports emerged before kick-off of an agreed £85.6m deal for Lille teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi.
