The Enzo Maresca era at Manchester City is officially underway after his side lost 3-1 on penalties to lose the Asahi Super Dry Trophy to Inter Milan.
Inside the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, Divin Mubama scored the first goal of the Maresca era after brilliant wing play by Antoine Semenyo, only for Inter Milan to respond through Benjamin Pavard.
While City were the better side in the second half, striking the post through youngster Ryan McAidoo, it ultimately went to penalties and despite a delightful Panenka penalty from Claudio Echeverri, misses from Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez meant City came out as the runners-up.
Many of their World Cup stars are still to come back in and so this was a mixed-up group for Maresca to cut his teeth with.
Daily Mail Sport takes a look at the key things we learned from Maresca’s first game in charge in Hong Kong.
The Enzo Maresca era at Manchester City is officially underway after facing Inter Milan in Asia
THE FODEN PUZZLE
There is so much for Enzo Maresca to get stuck into this pre-season but finding a formula to get the best out of Phil Foden should be top of the pile.
Foden has had seven weeks off to refresh, both physically and mentally, after a tough season where criticism was sharp and top performances felt few and far between, given what had come before.
Here was Foden wearing the captain’s armband, playing as the No 10 in a side that had been built around him.
Maresca knows exactly what Foden can do, one of the Premier League’s absolute best players when he’s at the peak of his powers, and finding a way to consistently maximise that could be the difference between winning and losing the biggest prizes.
‘He’s very important, like the rest,’ Maresca said in the lead-up. ‘Knowing Phil from years ago, I know how good he is so it’s my duty to try to help him to be the Phil that we all want.
‘First of all, to be happy, to play football, for him is the most important thing. And as I said, Phil in a good condition and mood can help us to win games and titles – and that’s what we want…’
First half here it felt like the game was passing Foden by; a couple of erroneous losses of possession and limited opportunities to build attacks were the headlines.
Second half, with Semenyo operating through the middle ahead of him, Foden looked sharper but still shy of the levels many are urging him to get back to.
Just under 70 minutes of action here for Foden was a reminder that while he is eager to be given a fresh start – and Maresca is ready to give him one – much more will be expected. Both player and manager need to find the formula for success.
Phil Foden showed flashes of what he can do but he needs to deliver much more this season
SHAPE WORK
This is one of the more interesting aspects of any opening pre-season game, particularly when a team is entering a new era following unprecedented success under its greatest ever manager.
So, no, this wasn’t copy-and-paste of the Pep Guardiola era by Maresca.
What we saw instead was an aggressive 4-2-4 high press out of possession, with Foden pushed up high alongside striker Divin Mubama, while it was a 3-4-2-1 with the ball with Josko Gvardiol anchoring a back three.
It was not flawless, mind you, with any cheap turnovers of possession allowing Inter Milan to counter quickly, exploiting the space out wide with City’s full-backs advanced up the pitch.
In the first half City’s midfield was overcrowded and too much space was beind afforded out wide. Tijjani Reijnders in particular struggled to influence the game alongside Mateo Kovacic.
There were times too when Maresca was barking at his players to press zonally, albeit the hope will be intensity can add into this when fitness builds up and more first team players add back in.
Inter Milan had chances and many were presented to them by City which will be cause for concern, particularly with space in the forward areas.
But City will be one of pre-season’s most interesting watches to see how Maresca’s methodology beds in in Manchester.
LEFT IS BEST FOR ANTOINE
When the teamsheet dropped to show Antoine Semenyo as the left winger, rather than the right, where Pep Guardiola liked to play him, there was a collective rejoicing in the City fanbase.
Semenyo is incredibly versatile and while he started out on the right in the early days at Bournemouth, he really kicked into gear as one of the Premier League’s best players off the left for the Cherries.
And here in Hong Kong was a great deal of evidence as to why the left side is the best side for the Ghanaian.
One of the criticisms of Semenyo on the right is that there is a predictability to his movements in the final third.
Here against Inter Milan it was wholly unpredictable and therefore a nightmare assignment for Inter Milan’s defenders, as Semenyo toyed with them, turning inside and out.
It was Semenyo’s burst, really noticeable in the first half before he was moved centrally in the second, that teed up the first goal of the Maresca era when he glided past Andy Diouf and rolled it across for Divin Mubama to slot in.
Jeremy Doku will come back in to the fold but on this evidence, relocating Semenyo should not be top of Maresca’s to-do list.
Antoine Semenyo was immense off the left, but saw his game shackled when moved inside
Ryan McAidoo turned Inter Milan’s players inside-out in a really promising second half cameo
RYAN IS READY
For those who watch academy football regularly, the sight of Ryan McAidoo turning full-backs inside-out is one that you see on a weekly basis.
The question has been whether it will translate to the senior level. On this evidence, the answer is absolutely yes.
The 18-year-old’s cameo in Hong Kong was bursting with quality as he had Inter Milan players bouncing off him, so strong is his low centre of gravity, and he even struck the post after a brilliant solo run.
One of the criticisms of City’s wide players at times during the Guardiola era was that they appeared over-coached and had flair in their game limited in favour of ball security.
Well, McAidoo was a breath of fresh air here, running directly at players, relishing any and all one-versus-one match-ups and a bag of tricks that would have made Foden and Semenyo proud.
‘He played as well as Semenyo for me,’ former City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips said. ‘He did more than impress… i loved it.’
Maresca can’t help but have been impressed, too. McAidoo is ready.
