How Enzo Maresca is emerging from Pep Guardiola’s shadow

Enzo Maresca is shaping up as Manchester City‘s problem solver par excellence, yet at a point when their greatest problems are far beyond his realm. City’s 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain was watched, whether from the directors’ box or the touchline, by the man long acclaimed as the best manager in the world and the one who probably merits that title now.

In a sense, a baton has been passed from Pep Guardiola to Luis Enrique. In another, Maresca is shaping up as a fine successor to the Catalan. A former assistant and a protégé may have appeared fortunate to get the City job, based on a relatively slim body of work as a manager, but some 114 rulings of an independent commission mean his can look a less enviable post anyway. Depending on possible punishments and amid an uncertain future, he may instead be auditioning for other roles.

But as City manager, Maresca’s first meeting with PSG ended in the same scoreline as Guardiola’s last, and with another demonstration of the seductive talents of Enrique’s side. A game of two halves was also one of two City teams and two decisions by Maresca; if he got it wrong before the start, he got it right at half-time.

Luis Enrique admitted his PSG team were fortunate to escape a Man City comeback in the Champions League (Reuters)

The Italian began with a side that proved too open in midfield, the use of Rayan Cherki as a No 10, when Enzo Fernandez already has his attacking instincts, meaning Elliot Anderson could be isolated and outnumbered; it was dangerous against Sunderland three weeks earlier and still more so against a PSG side whose midfield can uncontroversially be called the best in the game, and who are augmented by Ousmane Dembele, when he drops in from his nominal berth in attack.

Three down at the break, Maresca made three changes; arguably, it went beyond that, given that two starters adopted different roles. Bringing on Ayyoub Bouaddi gave Anderson company and provided City with a base in midfield; the Morocco international, 19, showed a precocity that, under other circumstances, might prompt suggestions he could be in City’s midfield for the next 15 years. It also gave Fernandez more licence to roam.

Introducing Iliman Ndiaye on the left wing was instructive in several respects: the removed Jeremy Doku had failed to track the attack-minded right-back Achraf Hakimi. But whereas Ndiaye had been a hugely impressive substitute on the right wing in the Manchester derby, while Antoine Semenyo operated on the right, this time they were on the other flanks. Ndiaye’s cross brought Erling Haaland‘s first goal.

It was significant, too, that captain Ruben Dias was taken off at half-time, despite his close relationship with Maresca. Enrique pointed out that City took risks to chase the game, leaving one defender back; often the electric Abdukodir Khusanov, moved from right-back to centre-back, and the quickest possible insurance policy.

Maresca’s reign at City is 10 matches old. If a tally of eight wins indicates he has started well, four have been shaped by hugely influential substitutes. The Italian likes to say he is learning about his players; the evidence is that he is a swift learner and that he can both read and change a game.

Maresca brought off Cherki as part of a triple-change at half-time against PSG (Getty)

His Premier League bow against Bournemouth was transformed from defeat to victory by the introduction of Cherki, who ended with two assists; that, however, was another occasion when the starting 11 seemed misguided, with Nico O’Reilly used as a No 10.

At Old Trafford, and following Phil Foden’s dismissal, Maresca replaced Cherki with Ndiaye; the summer signing’s ability to keep the ball, run at defenders and win free kicks proved invaluable for City’s 10 men. At Anfield on Sunday, Maresca showed a decisiveness in the relatively early introduction of Doku, the man brought down as Ryan Gravenberch collected his second yellow card. The Belgian went on to play a part in all three City goals, scoring the second in spectacular style.

It is an area where statistics can be deceptive. City only actually have two goals from substitutes in Maresca’s reign; the other was from teenager Ryan McAidoo in the Carabao Cup against Norwich. Cherki went off then, albeit in what seemed based on resting him. But the Frenchman has gone off at the break three times already and there could have been a fourth; at Crystal Palace, Cherki said, Maresca wanted to take him off after 45 minutes, the player persuaded him otherwise and went on to score twice in the second half.

If an unresolved issue is how to fit Cherki and Fernandez in the same team – the PSG game underlined the case for Bouaddi to accompany Anderson – and if an obvious caveat is to point out that Maresca benefits from having hugely expensive and very gifted players, it is nonetheless notable how astutely he has tended to deploy, and swap, them.

He has dealt with much well, including questions that Ferran Soriano or Khaldoon al-Mubarak should instead be answering and which, in turn, pose a threat to everyone at the Etihad Stadium. But if part of the City job entails acting as a shield for the hierarchy, part of it lies in replacing the club’s greatest manager. In that sense, Maresca seems to be an impact substitute himself.