Enzo Maresca’s approach promised excitement as Manchester City’s new manager, and he ultimately delivered the result that mattered most – a victory – courtesy of late strikes from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol.
For the second consecutive week, Maresca appeared to be making a statement about his midfield options. Following Mateo Kovacic’s struggles against Arsenal, he once more passed over Nico Gonzalez and instead deployed Marc Guehi in an unfamiliar central role – the defender’s inaugural appearance in midfield for the club and just his third such outing in the past four years.
Manchester City’s willingness to commit £81.4million to Lille for Ayyoub Bouaddi should address that situation ahead of Friday’s fixture against Crystal Palace, though it proved unhelpful during their opening Premier League match. The delay in finalising that transfer appears more unfortunate after the club dropped points at the Etihad. The team showed significant improvement compared to their performance in Cardiff last week but ultimately faced the same disappointing result due to inadequate defending and attacking.
Rico Lewis has repeatedly insisted he is not a right-back, yet he was selected there once again in an unexpected starting XI. Despite this, he performed admirably in linking play alongside Phil Foden in advanced areas. However, he was nowhere to be found when Marcus Tavernier capitalised on the space Lewis should have been occupying to score the opening goal.
The remaining three defenders fared no better for that strike, while Erling Haaland squandered a golden opportunity by his own standards during the first half. Shortly after the interval, Guehi then headed wide from close range after being left completely unguarded from a corner kick.
As if succeeding Pep Guardiola were not challenging enough, the Etihad crowd gathered beforehand to honour Kevin Keegan with thunderous applause for their former manager. Facing the prospect of defeat in his opening match, Maresca must have grasped the magnitude of the task awaiting him.
Yet, echoing the anthem played at full-time, City’s players demonstrated they will never surrender. That directive defined Guardiola’s tenure, and an extraordinary late comeback demonstrated it will endure under Maresca as Guehi rose to connect with a corner before Gvardiol finished from close range.
Maresca desires an entertaining Manchester City side – and they certainly delivered that – but will surely prefer quieter matchdays once the team develops cohesion. Bouaddi’s arrival, along with several other signings before the transfer deadline, should substantially assist with that objective.