Hits and misses: Maresca's Man City experiment gets lucky

<h3><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/manchester-city-vs-bournemouth/report/559451">Maresca's Man City experiment gets lucky</a></h3><widget id="19"></widget><p>Enzo Maresca described his first Premier League win as Manchester City boss "the perfect day", but also conceded that his side remain a "work in progress" after beating Bournemouth. That was evident for all to see as Marc Guehi hauled up surprisingly in midfield and Rico Lewis was staged at right-back.</p><p>Neither will be expected to continue the campaign in those positions. But City are worryingly short of options. Their performance bearing all the hallmarks of the unfinished article Maresca referenced.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/manchester-city-vs-bournemouth/report/559451"><strong>Man City 2-1 Bournemouth - Report and highlights</strong></a></li></ul><p>Man City will not challenge Arsenal or any side at the top in this condition, with so many of their best stars obviously undercooked. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden were both muted. Elliot Anderson lost more duels than he won. Guehi is just not a central midfielder.</p><p>But if City can continue to win games while Maresca figures things out, there is reason for optimism. All of those players will get sharper. Guehi will return to being a defender. And help will arrive from elsewhere, with <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13576242/ayyoub-bouaddi-transfer-manchester-city-reach-agreement-with-lille-to-sign-18-year-old-morocco-midfielder">Ayyoub Bouaddi's</a> signing on the horizon. City know they have work to do before the transfer window shuts.</p><p>What felt like an afternoon destined to end in disappointment and frustration morphed into one of success for Maresca. The Italian can take credit for the changes he made in the second half to ensure his Etihad bow ended all smiles. He won't be so lucky every week.<br /><em>Laura Hunter</em></p><ul><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/PLscoresarticles" target="_blank"><strong>Premier League fixtures & scores</strong></a> | <a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/FreePLHighlightsFirst" target="_blank"><strong>FREE PL highlights</strong></a>\u25b6\ufe0f</li><li><strong>Got Sky? </strong><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/WatchPremarticles" target="_blank"><strong>Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone</strong></a>\ud83d\udcf1</li><li><strong>Not got Sky? </strong><a href="https://www.sky.com/tv/sports?dcmp=Ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>Latest Sky Sports deals</strong></a><strong> or </strong><a href="https://www.nowtv.com/membership/watch-sky-sports/football/premier-league?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>stream PL games with no contract</strong></a>\ud83d\udcfa</li></ul><h3><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-liverpool/live/559452">Where has the 'old Isak' gone?</a></h3> <widget id="21"></widget><p>Alexander Isak was back at St James' Park.</p><p>One of the strangest things about his emotional reunion with Newcastle was how little impact he had.</p><p>Just under 12 months since that acrimonious departure, the balance of the transfer already feels remarkably different. Liverpool may still have the long-term prize, but on the evidence of this 2-2 draw, Newcastle have got the better of the deal so far.</p><p>The Isak who used to glide around this stadium with an effortless swagger was missing.</p> <widget id="22"></widget><p>There are some mitigating circumstances. Injuries have interrupted his rhythm since moving to Liverpool and, when a forward's body isn't right, sharpness and confidence can disappear quickly. This was never going to be an easy afternoon either, with the St James' Park crowd making their feelings known.</p><p>But even allowing for all of that, this did not look like the Isak Newcastle supporters remember.</p><p>He lacked the movement. The explosiveness. The menace.</p><p>Most importantly, he lacked that aura.</p><p>There is plenty of time for Isak to change that story yet whether the 'old Isak' will ever resurface is a debatable question.<br /><em>Lewis Jones</em></p><h3><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-liverpool/live/559452">Wissa is back! Newcastle may have found a new dimension</a></h3> <widget id="20"></widget><p>Yoane Wissa was signed by Newcastle to be the finisher, not the conductor of the orchestra.</p><p>However, against Liverpool the Newcastle forward operated predominantly as a No 10 and, for long periods, ran the show.</p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-liverpool/559452">As it happened</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-liverpool/teams/559452">Teams</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/newcastle-united-vs-liverpool/stats/559452">Stats</a> | </strong><strong><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/PLHLmatchreports">Watch FREE PL highlights</a></strong></li><li><strong>Latest news and rumours: <a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/Toonblogreports">Newcastle</a> | <a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/Livblogreports">Liverpool</a></strong></li></ul><p>Wissa didn't just look sharp again after a difficult spell but Matthias Jaissle appears to have found a role capable of bringing the best out of him.</p><p>There was the intensity, of course. Jaissle's football demands it. Newcastle were relentless without the ball, pressing, counter-pressing and trying to suffocate Liverpool whenever possession was lost.</p><p>Wissa was at the heart of that.</p><p>But what made his performance particularly encouraging was that the running never came at the expense of quality.</p><p>He drifted into pockets of space that Liverpool's midfield struggled to control, linked play intelligently and repeatedly looked to turn possession into something dangerous. That was shown by his magnificent burst and pass to...