Elliot Anderson broke Premier League record in Manchester City win vs. Coventry

Manchester City maintained their perfect record in the 2026-27 Premier League campaign after beating Coventry City on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.

It was far from Man City's scintillating best performance, but Erling Haaland's strike in the first half was enough to earn them all three points.

Enzo Maresca handed debuts to Iliman Ndiaye and £125m signing Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentine midfielder drafted into the starting XI after Nico O'Reilly picked up an injury in the warm-up.

City were the highest spenders in the summer transfer window, with the club completely revamping their midfield by signing three players on big-money deals.

Apart from Fernandez, Ayyoub Bouaddi also joined from Lille, while Elliot Anderson moved to the Etihad from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £116m.

Elliot Anderson sets new record vs Coventry City

146 - Elliot Anderson completed 146 passes for Manchester City against Coventry, the most by an English midfielder in a Premier League game on record since 2003-04.

Sublime. pic.twitter.com/VZxdE0llTM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 6, 2026

Anderson, who featured heavily in Thomas Tuchel's squad for England during the 2026 World Cup, set a new record against Coventry City.

According to Opta Joe, Anderson completed 146 passes for City, the most by an English midfielder in a Premier League game on record since 2003-04.

Man City enjoyed 77.6% possession, but they had to cling on to their lead as Coventry threatened towards the end to pull one back.

While Maresca would be happy to see Anderson heavily involved in controlling the game, the England midfielder surprisingly limited himself to making mainly safe sideways passes.

Man City challenges ahead: Maresca will expect more from midfield

City have the most expensive midfield trio in the Premier League, and Maresca will want them to contribute more to the team than simply keeping possession.

The talent in the squad is enormous, and the likes of Anderson, Bouaddi and Fernandez should be looking to be more creative going forward.

Man City will travel to Portugal to face FC Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and Maresca will hope that his new signings can continue to impress.