How Maresca's Man City are shaping up compared with Guardiola

What the report says

BBC Sport Football reports that Enzo Maresca is beginning to put his own stamp on Manchester City during pre-season, while still drawing heavily on ideas associated with Pep Guardiola. The piece says Maresca’s approach reflects Guardiola’s focus on possession, positional play and strong defensive rest structure, but the new manager is using those principles in a more rigid shape than his predecessor.

According to the analysis, City have often built up in a 3-2-2-3 structure, with three defenders and two midfielders helping progression and protection behind the ball. The article says this has been especially visible in pre-season matches, including games against Inter Milan, the K-League All-Stars and Atletico Madrid. It also notes that Maresca has asked wingers to stay high and wide, creating isolation against full-backs and looking for cut-backs rather than narrower combinations.

The report highlights players such as Antoine Semenyo, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders, Matteo Kovacic, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly as part of the evolving setup. It says Guardiola’s City often used wider forwards earlier in his reign, and that Maresca may be reviving some of that logic. Out of possession, however, the article says City have shown a more zonal high press than the man-to-man pressing Maresca used at Chelsea, suggesting a tactical adjustment as he adapts to the Premier League champions.