MANCHESTER, England — The last time Manchester City played at the Etihad Stadium, Marc Guéhi was in midfield.
This time, when newly crowned PFA Young Player of the Year Nico O’Reilly was injured before a ball was kicked against Coventry City, Enzo Maresca had a choice between promoting Enzo Fernández or Ayyoub Bouaddi from the bench.
He picked the midfielder who cost £125 million (Fernández) over the one who cost £86m (Bouaddi), and the Argentinian was involved in the build-up to the winning goal.
Erling Haaland scored it — his 300th at club level — as City won 1-0 to maintain their perfect start to the new Premier League campaign. It was after AFC Bournemouth visited the Etihad on the opening weekend that Maresca said he needed more players. Well, he has them.
Elliot Anderson, signed at a cost of £116m in the summer, was outstanding. Iliman Ndiaye, a £65m arrival from Everton on deadline day, showed flashes of skill and pace on the left. Haaland does what he always does and scored.
In the aftermath of Pep Guardiola’s departure, there has been some debate about what’s realistic for City this season. On paper at least, they have the talent and depth to push Arsenal all the way.
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And when asked afterwards about the strength of his squad, it was telling that Maresca referenced the reigning champions unprompted in his answer.
“If you see since the Community Shield, Arsenal play two more games [against Coventry and Aston Villa] and they have five changes in every game,” said Maresca.
“Two World Cup winners, [Mikel] Merino and [Martin] Zubimendi, two England players, [Eberechi] Eze and [Noni] Madueke, and the other one I don’t remember, I think it was [Piero] Hincapié.
“In the end, if you want to be there, you need options. Arsenal have options. We have options. More teams have options, so it’s not just us.
“I’m very happy with the options we have; that is something important for us if you want to compete.”
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The question is whether the investment this summer puts more pressure on Maresca.
City could have phased the rebuild and kept some signings back for next summer. Instead, they invested more than £450m into the squad — including £190m on deadline day — to ensure they have a team which can challenge now.
City sources speaking after the deadline were clear that there’s a belief internally that the squad is strong enough to compete on four fronts right away.
It’s a transition, only in fast-forward.
Maresca has a tough job following Guardiola. The barren years at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson and at Arsenal after Arsene Wenger show how hard it can be after a legendary manager leaves.
There are plenty of issues in trying to move on from Guardiola. But Maresca can’t argue he hasn’t got the tools. Phil Foden got two assists against Crystal Palace, but was left out against Coventry in favor of Rayan Cherki.
Brazilian winger Allan Elias, a £34m signing from Palmeiras in the last week of the window, wasn’t even on the bench. Jérémy Doku, absent with a calf injury, was also on the sideline.
There are options everywhere, though that’s not to say it won’t take time for Maresca to get his team ticking.
There were nervous moments against Coventry and City needed Gianluigi Donnarumma to make three important saves to secure all three points.
At the final whistle, after a frantic end, Rúben Dias turned to Donnarumma to hug the Italian. By the time the embrace ended, a queue had formed with Josko Gvardiol and Guehi also keen to say thank you.
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Anderson was deservedly named Player of the Match — he made more passes than the entire Coventry team put together — but Donnarumma was a close second.
“Nine of 10 times in this kind of game you end up conceding,” said Maresca. “Not all the wins are going to be nice wins, we need some wins in an ugly way.”
For Coventry, it was a lesson in the ruthlessness of the Premier League. On another day, they might have scored three or four.
Instead, Frank Lampard’s team are rooted to the bottom of the table and still looking for their first goal since winning the Championship. They scored 97 in the league last season.
“It’s a good performance from us,” said Lampard.
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“We felt we deserved something. A draw is probably a fair result. We created three big chances of our own. They’re disappointed in there [the dressing room] that we didn’t get anything. The Premier League is high, high level. It’s more important that we take confidence from it.”
While Coventry will take heart from their performance at the Etihad, Maresca will be buoyed by the start his team have made. Changes made and transfer business done, it’s three wins from three for City at the start of their new era.
The week ahead offers the biggest challenge yet — Porto away in the UEFA Champions League followed by the derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
One thing’s for sure, Maresca now has the options to cope with the test.
