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

Maresca’s Manchester City: A New Chapter Under Guardiola’s Legacy

Ninoda.com – Enzo Maresca faces a formidable challenge as he steps into Pep Guardiola’s shoes at Manchester City. The Spanish manager’s decade-long reign has set an exceptionally high bar. While many observers assume Maresca will simply continue the tactical philosophy established by his predecessor, the Italian coach brings his own distinctive identity to the Etihad Stadium. Throughout pre-season, we have begun to witness Maresca’s unique approach taking shape.

Understanding Guardiola’s Foundation

There exists a common misconception that Guardiola adhered rigidly to a single tactical system throughout his career. In reality, while he maintained core principles, his methods evolved considerably. Central to his philosophy was maintaining possession, keeping the ball positioned away from his own goal and closer to the opposition’s. Positional play formed another cornerstone of his approach.

Domenec Torrent, Guardiola’s longtime assistant, defined positional play as “how you place yourself in relation to others on the field when you have the ball, and where you should be so that you can continue pressing when you lose it”.

This tactical framework involves organizing players based on their spatial relationships to create advantages. Torrent’s definition also emphasizes what Guardiola termed “rest defence”—the positioning of teammates behind the ball during attacks, prepared to respond to counter-attacks.

Maresca’s Implementation of Core Principles

Manchester City under Maresca demonstrates these same foundational concepts. Their 64 percent possession rate against Inter Milan in their opening pre-season fixture illustrates this commitment. Rather than allowing players to roam freely across the pitch, Maresca has established clearly defined positions for each individual.

The Italian coach mirrors Guardiola’s emphasis on positional play. During attacking phases, Maresca typically leaves four or five players—comprising three defenders and holding midfielders—positioned behind the ball. This configuration ensures robust rest defence while enabling offensive progression.

The 3-2-2-3 Formation

In possession, Maresca organizes City into a 3-2-2-3 structure, a formation he previously utilized during his Chelsea tenure. This somewhat rigid positional arrangement maintains three defenders in the first line, capable of ball circulation while providing defensive width coverage.

Two midfielders operate ahead of the defensive line, assisting with ball progression, shielding the back line, and implementing quick counter-pressing when possession is lost. Within this midfield pairing, Maresca has granted one player greater freedom to join attacks. Tijjani Reijnders, currently linked with a departure, has occasionally fulfilled this role while Mateo Kovacic anchors the midfield base.

Against the K-League All Stars XI, Rico Lewis demonstrated tactical flexibility by inverting from right back into midfield, helping City transition from a back four into their preferred attacking configuration.

Wingers: A Return to Width

Positioned ahead of the 3-1 or 3-2 base, wingers are instructed to maintain high and wide positions, resisting the temptation to drift inward. This aspect represents perhaps the most significant element of Maresca’s system at City thus far.

Nico Gonzalez offered insight following a demanding match in hot conditions against the K-League All-Stars:

“I think the idea is clear. We try to arrive to the wingers. We have a lot of quality in wingers.”

This approach contrasts with Guardiola’s final season, where wingers frequently operated in narrower positions—a decision attributed to the exceptional quality of players available. Maresca’s system appears to revert to utilizing wingers in wider positions, reminiscent of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane’s contributions during 2017.

During a match against Atletico Madrid, City’s buildup with a 3-1 base was clearly visible. Antoine Semenyo and Savinho operated as wingers on the left and right respectively, maintaining their wide positions.

Guardiola’s Historical Precedent

Marti Perarnau, a journalist and friend of Guardiola, documented the former City manager’s thoughts on wide wingers during the 2016-17 campaign in his book “The Pep Revolution”. Guardiola explained the process:

“It’s a difficult process. You can’t just talk to [the wingers] and expect everything to happen. My first challenge is to convince [the wingers]. Just stay there on the wing, stay wide. Bide your time, be patient and your moment will come.”

He continued with his reasoning regarding the strategic advantage:

“Then, when you do get your chance, think about it, how many opponents am I going to have to get past? The answer? Just one. We’ve come up with this whole strategy so that you, the winger, only have to dribble past one man and sometimes the [opponent] is already beaten.”

Maresca’s City appears to be building upon this historical foundation, combining Guardiola’s principles with his own tactical identity to create a distinct approach for the future.