2026-08-24 09:02:00
Enzo Maresca feels that Manchester City are a “work in progress” as they battled to victory in their Premier League opener.
The Italian coach won his first Premier League game in charge of City as a late turnaround earned a 2-1 victory against Bournemouth on Sunday (23.08.26) but acknowledged that the team have plenty of work to do to reach the required levels.
Maresca said: “I feel in the same position as after Arsenal (in the Community Shield last weekend).
“It’s normal you judge after results but I don’t see big changes. Unfortunately, this is a work in progress and I’m looking for solutions. For sure when you win games it helps.
“If you think of the Premier League – it won’t happen that you will concede nothing. The goal we conceded was their first shot. They had two or three dangerous moments but it’s how you react. We’ve still got [Erling] Haaland, Elliot [Anderson], Marc [Guéhi], Nico O’Reilly [who all started], who are in pre-season still. It’s a huge difference in terms of physicality and we are going to get better and better.”
City fans unfurled a huge tifo of Maresca at the Etihad Stadium and the manager described his Premier League bow for the club as the “perfect day”.
He said: “It is the perfect day. I was very pleased to see the banner when the game started. We gave them [fans] the joy at the end. It was quite emotional. The spirit was fantastic. It’s a game we deserved to win [but] you don’t need to wait for the last five minutes. We missed chances, then they scored and it became more complicated.”
Maresca experimented by deploying Guéhi in midfield and was impressed with how the England international performed in an unfamiliar position.
He explained: “I know Marc from [ Crystal] Palace and I always thought he could play as a midfielder because he is very good.
“So we tried it for a few days and I think he was quite good. He gives us a solution for the future.”
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