Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City now have the squad depth required to challenge at the top of the Premier League after their 1-0 victory over Coventry.
City handed debuts to deadline-day arrivals Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye, while Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan McAidoo also made their first appearances in front of the home supporters.
Fernandez was thrust into the starting XI shortly before kick-off after Nico O’Reilly was injured during the warm-up, and the 125 million pounds signing immediately made an impact. His clever pass released Antoine Semenyo, whose cross was headed home by Erling Haaland for his 300th club goal.
Ndiaye, signed for 60 million pounds, also started, although Maresca acknowledged that the Senegal international will need time to adapt to his tactical demands after only two training sessions with the squad.
Despite the new arrivals, Elliot Anderson was arguably City’s standout performer, earning man-of-the-match honours after producing another impressive display in midfield.
City were forced to withstand significant pressure from Coventry after the break, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making several important saves to preserve the lead.
Maresca admitted the performance was far from spectacular but insisted such results will be important over the course of the campaign.
“It was a little bit of an ugly win,” he said. “It’s something we need and a clean sheet is important.”
The City boss also pointed to Arsenal’s strength in depth as evidence that major squad investment is necessary for any team hoping to compete for the title.
“If you want to be there you need options,” Maresca said. “Arsenal have options. We have options. More teams have options so it’s not just us.”
Fernandez’s familiarity with Maresca should help accelerate his adaptation, having previously worked with the manager at Chelsea.
“I know how good he is and I know that he is going to help the team to win games,” Maresca said.
