Enzo Maresca seemingly took on an impossible job in the summer when replacing the legendary Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but is making it look an easy task in the infancy of his tenure. Four victories in as many games has City sitting joint-top of the Premier League alongside Arsenal, and the early signs suggest those two sides will be the ones tussling for the title once more. Maresca clinched his most significant win since taking charge with an impressive 1-0 victory against rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, despite playing much of the game with 10 men following Phil Foden's sending-off.
The City players, though, mirrored their manager's feelings by staying calm, and it is this type of composure which has been the most impressive aspect during these first few weeks. Is the Premier League already a two-team title race? Left in the dark - will fans ever get to hear live VAR audio?
Intelligence & resilience key in statement win for Maresca's Man City - Murphy Maresca looked back to last September when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was dismissed after only five minutes for former side Chelsea at the same venue - a defeat which he referenced after Sunday's game. The manager was forced into changes that evening and appeared to panic by making two substitutions in the opening seven minutes, effectively moving his side to a back five but unable to see the game out. Fast forward one year - his decision to assess the situation before making major changes proved critical, shifting Rayan Cherki to the right, then replacing him at half-time with Iliman Ndiaye was a noteworthy tactical tweak.
"How do you say in English? For us, happy Erling, happy life," said a beaming Maresca after being asked about Erling Haaland's winner and his contributions this season. Such jovial remarks from a smiling Maresca in news conferences are in contrast to predecessor Guardiola, who often looked like he would rather be anywhere else but in that chair.
In May, which transpired to be Guardiola's final month at City, the Spaniard was asked what advice he would give the next manager. "Be themselves," was the reply - and Maresca is beginning to step out of his shadow. While Guardiola was often leaping and screaming around his technical area during games, Maresca looks to be the opposite as he tends to stand motionless by the pitch with his arms folded.
The most eye-catching change in training has been the introduction of loud house music, which Maresca himself described as the "boom, boom, boom" type - the approach is to make the players feel "more happy" and "work better". New captain Ruben Dias recently said in a BBC Sport interview that Maresca had introduced his own ideas, but the fundamentals remain as they were under Guardiola. Dias said: "There's obviously many things from training sessions to some details about the way we press, details about the way we defend that make all of these Enzo's idea.
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