Enzo Fernández started for Manchester City after Nico O’Reilly’s back injury during the warm-up and sparkled, showing why the club paid a British record-equalling £125m for the midfielder. The winner came courtesy of Erling Haaland’s 300th goal in club football and Fernández had a key part, feeding Antoine Semenyo, whose cross from the right was crashed home.
In the second half Coventry hammered away, but their wait for a first top-flight goal since Mustapha Hadji’s second in a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa on 5 May 2001 goes on. The visitors did not like losing, but were heartened by holding the star-studded hosts to a slender win, though the bottom line is all three of their Premier League outings on their return have been defeats.
Frank Lampard said: “I don’t think we deserved to lose. I’m disappointed we didn’t get what we deserved – which was a point. We can walk out of here with our heads held extremely high.”
Enzo Maresca’s men have a maximum nine points so can be supremely satisfied. “Today was not a nice win, a bit ugly,” he said. “In the first half we deserved more goals – we scored one but could have scored one or two more.”
The manager said of Fernández: “The reason Enzo was on the bench [initially] was because he arrived only a few days ago. I know how frustrating it was for him in the last weeks but in the end he played some minutes and was quite good. Nico felt something in his back – not serious.”
Ayyoub Bouaddi, bought for £85m, was on the bench for those in blue, as Fernández lined up alongside Rayan Cherki in a 4-1-2–2-1 that had Semenyo and Iliman Ndiaye, another new home signing, stationed behind Haaland.
Coventry, with Ethan Pinnock and Frank Onyeka replacing Caleb Yirenkyi and Loum Tchaouna from the XI that lost at home to Hull, could have taken the lead when Abdukodir Khusanov played the ball back to Gianluigi Donnarumma and it slipped under the goalkeeper’s boot, but the Italian scrambled it clear. The visitors should then have bridged the 25 years to Hadji when a Semenyo pass meant for Rúben Dias was intercepted by Taiwo Awoniyi. But when the striker ran in his radar failed, and the shot was pulled wide.
The longer Coventry stayed level the better their prospects. Cherki fed a galloping Haaland and he twisted and let fly, but Carl Rushworth’s save was equal to the shot. Then, dazzling Cherki footwork – after a pass from Fernández – was followed by an effort that struck a post.
The frame of the goal and Rushworth could do nothing to stop Haaland’s opener. This time Fernández curved a pass in behind for Semenyo, the right-winger spun the ball over, and Haaland did the rest.
This was 26 minutes in and Coventry were under siege. Fernández collected the ball along the right, looked up and aimed a cross for Haaland but it failed to beat the first man. Then Cherki, again in Fred Astaire mode, made space and saw an effort blocked.
Maresca wants his wingers to be more direct – utilising the pace of Ndiaye and Semenyo – and the tactic spun Coventry. So, too, did an impish Cherki flick which put Haaland in again: he rode a challenge when going down might have brought a penalty, before shooting. Rushworth once more thwarted the Norwegian.
For Coventry, Jack Rudoni did better than Awoniyi with a header at close range, but Donnarumma flew to his left to prevent an equaliser. This showed the hope Lampard’s men carried but they had to finish any chance as these were scarce.
Ndiaye was fairly quiet on debut and when Cherki’s work took the ball to him in the area he should have pulled the trigger but refused.
Maresca said of the Senegalese: “Ili just had two sessions with us – most of the time he was moving in the wrong way, he needs to learn. When Marc Guéhi has the ball [at centre-back] he was dropping a lot – we didn’t need that, we needed him in the final third, that space was for Josko [Gvardiol, the left-back].”
The manager was more enthused about Elliot Anderson. “Really impressed not just today, he was very good against Palace, and against Bournemouth,” said Maresca. “The best thing with Elliot is day by day he wants to be better.”
Bouaddi’s home debut came on 75 minutes for Fernández and the 18-year-old showed composure during Coventry’s late-game bombardment, which included Ellis Sims forcing a point-blank save from Donnarumma.
