Enzo Maresca closing in on Pep Guardiola's 10-win Man City start

Enzo Maresca is conscionable 4 victories distant from matching Pep Guardiola's singular 10-game winning commencement astatine Manchester City, but the destiny of his predecessor's archetypal play offers a informing astir speechmaking excessively overmuch into an aboriginal run.

City extended their winning series to six matches with Thursday night's emphatic 5-0 triumph implicit Norwich City successful the EFL Cup.

Maresca's broadside person besides beaten Bournemouth, Coventry City, Crystal Palace and Manchester United successful the Premier League, arsenic good arsenic Porto successful the Champions League.

Across those six games, City person scored 15 goals and conceded lone twice, portion 4 consecutive cleanable sheets person added to the content that the Italian's large rebuild is progressing quickly.

That leaves Maresca wrong striking region of the commencement Guardiola made erstwhile helium arrived astatine the Etihad Stadium successful 2016.

The Spaniard won his archetypal 10 matches successful each competitions.

For Maresca to lucifer him, City indispensable negociate a series which includes 2 important tests against Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

Maresca moves wrong 4 wins of Guardiola's flying start

City archetypal big Sunderland connected Sunday earlier the September planetary interruption gives Maresca an extended play to enactment connected his team's development.

They past question to Anfield to look Liverpool connected October 11, big PSG successful the Champions League 3 days aboriginal and invited Ipswich Town connected October 17.

Win each 4 and Maresca would person reproduced 1 of the astir awesome starts by a caller Premier League manager.

The examination is peculiarly striking due to the fact that City person undergone sizeable alteration since Guardiola left.

Maresca antecedently worked arsenic portion of Guardiola's unit during the treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, meaning helium already understood the club's operation and moving situation erstwhile helium returned arsenic caput coach.

However, helium has stressed that familiarity with the Etihad should not beryllium confused with familiarity with the existent squad.

"There are lone 3 oregon 4 players from my past play here," Maresca explained.

Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias are the lone members of the starting XI from the 2023 Champions League last against Inter Milan inactive successful City's existent squad, with Rico Lewis having been among the substitutes that night.

Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake person since departed, portion Maresca has had to incorporated different radical of large signings.

Marc Guehi, Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi are among those brought successful to reshape the team, portion Allan marked his archetypal City commencement by scoring against Norwich.

Maresca believes 1 crushed for City's speedy adaptation is that his players person already understood what helium is demanding.

"The astir important happening erstwhile you get astatine a caller nine is to spot that the players recognize what the manager wants," helium said.

"Day aft day, crippled aft game, adjacent with truthful galore changes, I tin spot it is precise wide to them what we want."

Guardiola's 10 consecutive wins came with a large warning

Matching Guardiola's series would beryllium an awesome achievement, but City already cognize that an exceptional commencement guarantees nothing.

Guardiola's archetypal play provides the cleanable example.

City won their opening 10 matches successful each competitions successful 2016-17, a series which included six successive Premier League victories.

The tally yet ended with a 3-3 Champions League gully distant to Celtic.

Momentum past disappeared astir arsenic rapidly arsenic it had arrived.

City went 5 games without a triumph during October and Guardiola yet finished his archetypal run successful England without a trophy.

His broadside ended the Premier League play successful 3rd place, exited the Champions League successful the past 16 and were beaten successful the FA Cup semi-finals.

It remains the evident cautionary communicative for Maresca.

His opening weeks person already demonstrated that City's modulation whitethorn hap faster than galore expected, peculiarly fixed the standard of the midfield rebuild helium inherited.

Yet the adjacent 4 matches should uncover much than the archetypal six.

Sunderland correspond City's last duty earlier the planetary break, but Liverpool astatine Anfield and European champions PSG supply consecutive tests against opponents with the prime to exposure weaknesses which whitethorn not yet person surfaced.

Maresca is readying to usage the planetary play to rewatch each City lucifer from the opening weeks of the play and place areas which tin inactive improve.

That successful itself suggests helium is improbable to go distracted by comparisons with Guardiola.

Ten consecutive wins would spot his commencement alongside his predecessor's.

City's ain history, though, shows that the much important examination volition lone beryllium imaginable erstwhile the trophies are handed out. The derby triumph astatine Old Trafford already showed that this broadside tin find a mode to triumph adjacent erstwhile circumstances crook against them.