Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca admits he is still working out his best XI amid the prospect of Marc Guehi playing in midfield this season.
City opened their Premier League campaign with a dramatic late victory over Bournemouth on Sunday, with Guehi heading in a late leveller before Josko Gvardiol netted a stoppage-time winner.
Surprise selection against Bournemouth
Maresca opted to pair Guehi with Elliot Anderson in the middle of midfield, with Nico O'Reilly playing in an advanced role. Rico Lewis started at right back with Phil Foden ahead of him in a combination that struggled defensively, with Matheus Nunes called into action in the second half.
The surprise selection, which also had no place for Rayan Cherki - with the Frenchman coming on for the final quarter and producing two assists - saw only two changes from the side that started in the Community Shield but several players in different positions.
Maresca on finding solutions
With six first-team stars only returning to training 10 days ago and signings and sales expected between now and the end of the transfer window, Maresca acknowledges his City side is a work in progress.
"Day by day I can see more clear but at the moment I don't have yet an ideal 11 players," he said.
On the decision to field Guehi in midfield, Maresca said: "It's just in this moment it is important to find solutions. I know Marc from Palace and I always thought he could be a good midfielder.
"We tried him the first two days of the week after Arsenal as a central defender stepping in, and in the last two days we tried him as a proper midfielder and overall I think it was a good performance from him and the good thing is he now also gives us a solution for the future."
Guehi's future role
Asked if Guehi could become a long-term option in midfield, Maresca added: "It is a solution, I don't know if we will do it for the next game. We need different solutions so when you visualise and it is good, so in the future when you need you know when he is going to play there you know he is going to be good.
"It is not linked to if we buy players or don't buy players. We planned to win the game and the idea was to have more physicality in the middle. I think Elliot, him and Nico O'Reilly, they are physical and Marc was good."
