MANCHESTER, England — Enzo Maresca could not have drawn up a more perfect start at Manchester City.
There’s still a long way to go before the Italian proves he’s up to the task of succeeding Pep Guardiola. But after six games and six wins, it’s so far, so good.
On Thursday night, Norwich City were dispatched 5-0 in the Carabao Cup. Maresca rested key players, gave valuable minutes to others and booked a place in the next round. It could not have gone any better — much like Maresca’s first few weeks in the job.
He admitted in his pre-match news conference on Wednesday that it was “normal that fans have doubts” when a new man comes in to replace a legendary head coach.
Still only September, the uncertainty is likely to persist a little longer. But with each positive result, it dissipates a little more. Supporters won’t have learned much from a comprehensive victory over a much-changed English League Championship team.
But it all adds to the feeling that things are going well. If nothing else, Maresca looks like a man who knows exactly what he’s doing.
“I’m very happy with these six games in a row, but now the main focus is just on the next one and I’m not thinking that we won six in a row because they’re finished,” he said.
“The focus is on the next one and then we have the international break.
“I’m not thinking more than one week ahead because I know that in our job many things can change in one week.
“When we started the season, I was not thinking where we could be in six or seven games. Game after game. Tonight we are happy, many reasons and we can start to think about Sunday.”
A Norwich team with one eye on Bolton Wanderers at the weekend was never going to cause City too many problems. Still, Maresca got his team selection right, mixing fringe players in need of a game with exciting academy prospects.
With Erling Haaland rested, Floyd Samba started up front. It took the 17-year-old just 29 minutes to score on his debut. With less than an hour on the clock, he had two.
“To get a debut like that is mind-blowing,” said Samba, son of former Blackburn Rovers defender Chris Samba.
“I couldn’t be happier right now, being my first senior debut, you have to expect everything to go well, the intensity, the level of players, everything goes up and you have to be able to match it and cope with it, and I think I did well with that.”
Behind him, Rayan Cherki started, but he was only needed for 45 minutes. It was still enough time for the Frenchman to score his third goal of the season.
Ayyoub Bouaddi got another taste of England with the security of 32-year-old Mateo Kovacic next to him. Nico O’Reilly was eased back in after injury.
Brazilian winger Allan made his first appearance after arriving from Palmeiras in the summer and got a goal and an assist. Gerónimo Rulli, another recruit, stood in for Gianluigi Donnarumma. Ryan McAidoo, 18, came off the bench to score the fifth.
It was a night for the squad players. And as Maresca pointed out this week, they could all be important when injuries and suspensions begin to pile up in January, February and March.
Where City will be at that point in the season is anyone’s guess. It’s still a new manager trying to build a team with a lot of new players. But the early signs are good.
There have been statement wins over FC Porto and Manchester United. The performance at Old Trafford with 10 men, in particular, showed exactly what Maresca can do as a tactician even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Elliot Anderson has settled in quickly. Haaland is scoring. There have been questions about the defense, but it’s now four clean sheets in a row with a mixture of players and combinations. Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis — 22 and 20, respectively — started at center back against Norwich. Marc Guéhi and Rúben Dias are likely to return against Sunderland on Sunday.
“We have different competitions,” said Maresca.
“We have many games and we are just at the beginning of the season. The ones that play tonight are going to play Premier League or UEFA Champions League games because the season is long.”
There are tougher tests to come. After the extended international break — itself difficult to manage — City play Liverpool away and Paris Saint-Germain at home in the space of four days.
Those games, especially coming back-to-back, will be a true measure of City’s credentials in the Premier League and Champions League this season. But after six wins in a row to start his reign, Maresca is well set to meet the challenge.
