Pep Guardiola's reign as Manchester City manager got off to an edgystart after his side defeated Sunderland 2-1on Saturday to start their 2016-17 Premier League campaign with a victory.A late own goal from Paddy McNair bailed City out of trouble after Jermain Defoe scored in the 71st minute to cancel out Sergio Aguero's fourth-minute opener from the penalty spot.Guardiola made a host of changes to the Citizens' XI for his first league match in charge, with Willy Caballero taking Joe Hart's place in goal and Aleksandar Kolarov standing in at centre-back alongside new arrival John Stones.Despite the loss, Sunderland manager David Moyes could afford to take his share of positives from the result, as noted by the Mirror'sKevin Maguire:Moyes saw his new club last just four minutes of the new Premier League season before conceding a goal, and it was Patrick van Aanholt's foul in the box that gave City their breakthrough.Raheem Sterling's step inside bamboozled the Black Cats left-back on the right side of the area, and after a strong end to last season, Aguero stepped up to reignite his sensational league form, per OptaJoe:It wasn't long before the opener that Sunderland youngster Lynden Gooch had tested City stopper Cabellero with a free-kick from just outside the area.Much of Saturday's attention was always bound to surround how tactical mastermind Guardiola shaped his City side, and theMirror's Alex Richards gave some insight as to how they were operating:Sunderland had to wait until the 40th minute for their first real chance of the clash, whenDefoe timed his run to perfection before forcing a superb reflex save out of Caballero.Although City's penetration levels simmered following the early opener, the Black Cats were struggling to impose themselves at all in the opposition half, thanks largely to the form of Stones, per Squawka:After a summer of speculation regarding his future at the Etihad Stadium, Sterling was having a great impact against Sunderland's defence, and he almost managed to tee up Aguero for a second on the hour mark.Moyes threw on Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj for his Sunderland debut with 25 minutes remaining, hoping the starlet who first made a name for himself against the Black Cats could save their skin this time.The introduction of the Belgian and Wahbi Khazri had a hand in giving the north-east visitors a new impetus in attack, but it was Jack Rodwell who made the defence-splitting pass for Defoe's 71st-minute equaliser.Former Manchester City starlet Rodwell cut an incisive pass to the English veteran, who scorched through the City defence before firing beyond Caballero and advancing his record against the Citizens:City continued to dominate possessionthey accounted for almost 80 percent, according to WhoScored.combut unearthing clear-cut chances for Aguero and Co. proved a real stumbling block.It seemed almost fitting, therefore, that just four minutes after replacing goalscorer Defoe, new signing McNair forced the ball into his own net from a fizzing City ball across the face of his goal:Guardiola will care little for how scrappy his first Premier League win came to fruition, just that three points means his side got the season off to a successful start.Manchester City have just three days to prepare for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday, and Guardiola will be forced to adapt quickly to England's hectic schedule.Sunderland, meanwhile, will have to recover swiftlyas they look forward to next Sunday's north-east derby against Premier League new boys Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light.Post-Match ReactionGuardiola insisted his side "deserved" three points at the Etihad on Saturday evening, even if the result did come by the closest of margins following Defoe's equaliser.Speaking to BT Sport after the win, the Spaniard dubbed the displays of new signings Stones and Nolito "amazing" and added (h/t BBC Sport):We definitelydeserved the victory. The first games are always difficult. We spoke during this week about what we had to do like a team and we did it. Sometimes, you are little lucky.We should have been a bit more aggressive but these kind of things have to happen to know how to get better in the next game.On his decision to drop Hart in place of Caballero, Guardiola mentioned all his players are professional, who will be expected to "fight for their place.Black Cats boss Moyes called the manner in which McNair's own goal came about "disappointing," but the manager did suggest his side will be active in the transfer market in the next fortnight:"We aredefinitely lookingshort in several areas and willdo everything we can to improvethe team. But today we gave two young boys their debuts, at Man City. So if the young players do well enough we are happy to promote them too."
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