The clues Enzo Maresca gave away in Man City’s K-League cruise: The new ways he wants this team to play, who’s ready to start… and who isn’t
Enzo Maresca will hope that Seoul’s searing and suffocating heat – the extent of which has seen local government advise residents to stay indoors – will fast-track the fitness of Manchester City’s squad before their season starts a week on Sunday.
A 3-1 victory over the K-League All Stars was noticeable for patterns that Maresca is trying to implement and the structures his new players need to work in.
But question marks do loom over key areas of the pitch as Daily Mail Sport looks at how the first proper week of the post-Pep Guardiola era is shaping up.
Manchester City cruised to a 3-1 win over the Korean League All Stars, scoring all three goals in the opening quarter of the match
Enzo Maresca will hope that Seoul’s searing and suffocating heat will fast-track the fitness of Manchester City’s squad before their season starts a week on Sunday
Kovacic stakes his claim
Mateo Kovacic was bullish about his future this week, claiming he never had the feeling from City’s hierarchy that a departure was in the offing this summer despite interest from elsewhere.
That throws up an intriguing conundrum around Maresca’s midfield options. With £116million club-record signing Elliot Anderson set to link up with the squad ahead of the Community Shield next weekend, and a move for Lille’s 18-year-old Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi progressing, the numbers are beginning to look crowded.
Kovacic would have appeared an obvious candidate to move on but he has been utilised as the deep-lying No6 in both of the friendlies so far – notably ahead of Nico Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has had the summer off after not being involved in Spain’s World Cup triumph, while Kovacic was Stateside with Croatia. Sources suggested at the end of last season that City would listen to offers for Gonzalez, who joined from Porto for £50million in January 2025.
Kovacic was replaced by Gonzalez at half-time of this win, with Tijjani Reijnders kept on for just over an hour amid interest from Nottingham Forest surrounding a £55million transfer. Reijnders has much to prove in the Premier League and his main characteristics – a strong ball-carrier who crashes into the box late – should make him an asset in the division.
While mindful of the level of opposition, he did himself no harm on Wednesday. An assist for Rayan Ait-Nouri’s opener came from Reijnders taking up a dangerous position in the right-hand channel – clearly an intentional tactic by Maresca.
His goal, swivelling first time to find the far corner following good work by Rico Lewis and Antoine Semenyo, was not the sort of action often seen in his debut campaign. But the manager was not exactly unequivocal about the Dutchman’s future.
Mateo Kovacic would have appeared an obvious candidate to move on but he has been utilised as the deep-lying No6 in both of the friendlies so far – notably ahead of Nico Gonzalez
Rayan Ait-Nouri gave City the lead inside nine minutes at the Seoul World Cup Stadium
Tijjani Reijnders, who has been linked with a £55million move to Nottingham Forest, put City back in front on 20 minutes with a low strike
‘He is here with us,’ Maresca said. ‘The players that are with us until the day that they aren’t with us, it’s my duty to do the best for them. I’m happy with his performance and he’s working good since he came back from his holiday. At the moment I’m very happy with him.’
City will have big decisions to make on Reijnders and others in the coming weeks – even if Rodri is granted his Real Madrid wish.
Divin intervention
There are a number of clubs in the Championship weighing up loan offers for striker Divin Mubama, who scored his second poacher’s finish of pre-season when mopping up a saved Semenyo effort.
The 21-year-old West Ham academy product scored five times on loan at Stoke City last term and his role leading from the front gave some clues on how Maresca might want to deploy Erling Haaland.
City pressed with more intensity than expected, given the humidity meant the 35°C heat had a ‘real feel’ of 45°C. That came in the form of a 4-2-4 system, with Phil Foden up alongside Mubama.
Foden, though, was the one tasked with leading the closing down. Mubama dropped in deeper to something resembling a No10 position, sitting on the K-League midfield. That gave Foden more room and freedom to head off the press, with the rest following, and plays into his skillset.
Mubama, who is insisting that Maresca’s arrival represents a ‘fresh start’, is more adept at hunting down possession high up the pitch than Haaland, who can then serve a purpose by blocking off the passing lanes.
Divin Mubama turns in his second goal of pre-season to give City a 3-1 lead
Mubama’s positioning as a No10 gave Phil gave Foden more room and freedom to head off the press, with the rest following
Wing wonders
New father Jeremy Doku is still to come back from the World Cup and will arrive as the premier winger at the club – but the fight for who earns starts on the other flank seems one-sided at the moment.
Semenyo has described Maresca’s philosophy as music to his ears, revealing how he was always struck by the clear instructions of Chelsea’s wide men to stay high.
The Ghana international has caught the eye in recent days, with that direct style favoured by his new boss. He’s done it off both flanks too, and wants to add a touch more mystery to his game.
Separate bits of ingenuity and power, showing off both sides of his talent, were meaningful contributions to a couple of City’s three goals. Both of those came shortly after Gianluigi Donnarumma was beaten at his near post by Kim Dae-won’s equaliser from the edge of the box. The Italian will hope to get those mistakes out of the way now.
