Manchester City battled through extreme heat to claim a 3-1 pre-season victory over the K-League All Stars in Seoul.
Temperatures reached around 36 degrees Celsius at kick-off, but City still produced an impressive first-half display, with Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Divin Mubama all finding the net.
The win was Maresca’s first as Manchester City manager after his side opened their Asian tour with a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan last weekend.
Although pleased with the result, Maresca said the commitment shown by his players in such difficult conditions was the biggest positive.
“For us the result is always important, even if it is a friendly game, but the most important thing is to see the effort of the players, especially in this weather,” he said.
“Compared to the last game, in some aspects we did some things better.
“The good thing is the players tried to adapt to the weather. They made an effort for 95 minutes.
“Since day one, the players are putting in the effort and I can see that they trust the job we are doing and, for me, this is the main thing.”
Manchester City’s squad is still without several senior players who were involved in the latter stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Those players are expected to return to training next week in Manchester, only days before the Community Shield.
Maresca admitted his side will need more time before they are at full strength but believes the foundations are already being put in place.
“The reason why is because around eight or nine players are still not here with us,” he said.
“But the important thing is when they are here they make the effort to do the things we have been trying to do since day one.
“Also we need them to trust what we want, that is important, and then when the rest of the players arrive there is no doubt we will be even better.”
Manchester City continue their pre-season tour on Sunday when they face Atletico Madrid at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
