MANCHESTER: Enzo Maresca began his tenure as Manchester City manager in style when his men, who played with 10 men, managed to defeat Manchester United 1-0 in their local rivals Manchester at Old Trafford.
Maresca ran to the sidelines to celebrate the victory with the visiting City fans, realising how important the victory was on his debut in the competition.
City’s task became increasingly difficult after Phil Foden was shown a red card in the 23rd minute, but Maresca’s squad rose to the challenge.
The midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson also proved why City were willing to spend almost £250 million to secure their services.
City also benefited from a controversial decision when Erling Haaland’s winning goal was only confirmed after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The review found that Fernandez did not interfere with play when he attempted to head the ball before it reached Haaland.
United were furious with the decision, with their defender, Lisandro Martinez, describing it as an ‘injustice’.
However, it was difficult for United to dispute City’s victory because the visiting team looked better despite playing for over an hour with a player missing.
Maresca said he managed to win a tactical battle with United manager Michael Carrick when the home team failed to capitalize on the space to counter-attack.
“I think the match was more difficult for us with 10 players but at the same time it was also difficult for them.
“They are a team that likes to transition and use space behind the defense. With 10 players, we just retreat and wait for them, so we don’t allow any transition attacks or space behind the defense,” he said.
The victory continued Maresca’s excellent start after many expected City to face a difficult season following the departure of Pep Guardiola, who left the club after a trophy-laden decade.
After being beaten 0-3 by Arsenal in the Community Shield, City bounced back with four consecutive wins to continue to trail The Gunners at the top of the English Premier League (EPL).
They also opened their Champions League campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Porto.
Early season developments show that City’s buying activity has given Maresca a squad of players of sufficient quality to ensure the team’s ability does not decline after the Guardiola era.