Enzo Maresca faces one of the most demanding briefs in European football: succeeding Pep Guardiola, who spent a decade reshaping Manchester City into a global benchmark. Yet watching City's pre-season, a picture is emerging — familiar in spirit, distinct in execution.
Shared principles, different tools
Guardiola was never a one-system manager. What defined him were principles: dominate possession, keep the ball close to the opponent's goal, and maintain a reliable rest defence — players stationed behind the ball, ready to absorb counter-attacks. His long-time assistant Domenec Torrent once described 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."
Maresca shares those convictions. City recorded 64 percent possession in their opening pre-season fixture against Inter Milan, and their players operate in clearly defined zones rather than roaming freely — a hallmark of positional play. Four or five players, typically the three centre-backs and the holding midfielders, remain behind the ball at all times when City attack.
The 3-2-2-3 structure
On the ball, Maresca organises City in a 3-2-2-3 shape — the same framework he deployed at Chelsea. Three defenders form the first line, offering width defensively and composure in possession. Two midfielders ahead of them screen the defence, drive the ball forward, and counter-press immediately on turnovers.
Within that pairing, one midfielder is given license to push forward. Tijjani Reijnders, whose future at the club remains uncertain, has filled that role in pre-season, with Matteo Kovacic anchoring the base.
Why the wingers are everything
The most decisive element of Maresca's system is the instruction to his wide players: stay high, stay wide, and be patient. Nico Gonzalez, speaking after a demanding match against K-League All-Stars, confirmed the approach plainly. "I think the idea is clear," he said. "We try to arrive to the wingers. We have a lot of quality in wingers."
This marks a deliberate departure from Guardiola's final season, when City's wingers often drifted narrow due to the profile of available personnel. Maresca is returning to a wider, more positional use of the flanks — reminiscent of the system that saw Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane flourish in 2017.
Guardiola himself articulated the logic behind wide wingers in journalist Marti Perarnau's book The Pep Revolution. "Just stay there on the wing, stay wide," Guardiola told his players. "If you drift into the middle, how many will you have to get past? Four!" The math still holds under Maresca.
Antoine Semenyo was arguably City's most impressive presence during pre-season, repeatedly receiving the ball in space out wide before driving towards the box and cutting the ball back for onrushing forwards — a pattern City want to make routine.
Central players and infield movement
When opponents crowd the wide areas, space opens centrally — and that is where players like Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are expected to thrive. Josko Gvardiol has been asked to shift from left-back into a left attacking-midfield role once City establish possession, helping create a compact box shape in midfield. Both Gvardiol and Nico O'Reilly have demonstrated an ability to arrive late into the box and contribute to goals from those starting positions.
A defensive shape still finding its feet
Out of possession, Maresca's approach differs most sharply from his time at Chelsea, where he relied on aggressive man-to-man pressing. At City, pre-season has featured a higher, more zonal defensive structure — consistent with what City employed last season under Guardiola.
The starting defensive shape resembles a 4-2-4, with players springing to engage specific opponents when the moment is right. Maresca acknowledged the shifting landscape, saying: "Usually the team that was defending found the solution by going man-to-man. Now the teams that try to build up are trying to find solutions against man-to-man."
This portion of City's game has been the most vulnerable in pre-season, with midfielders and full-backs sometimes forced to cover excessive ground, leaving gaps in the defensive structure. Pressing systems typically sharpen as physical fitness rises and players internalise the triggers — but it is worth noting that Guardiola himself never fully resolved this puzzle in his final campaign.
A new chapter with familiar echoes
The 3-2-2-3 shape that Maresca is installing is the same formation City used during their historic treble season. The wide-winger model, the cut-back emphasis, the marauding full-backs — all carry the fingerprints of City's most successful years. Maresca's system is clearly his own, but it draws consciously from a decade of excellence, offering continuity as the club steps into a new era.
