Maresca's City Faces Porto in Champions League Opener
Manchester City land in Porto with a familiar weight on their shoulders and a new voice on the touchline. Enzo Maresca steps into the Champions League spotlight as head coach for the first time with City, and on the eve of their opener he cut a calm, precise figure: demanding, detailed, and already putting his own stamp on a squad used to perfection.
Alongside him, Matheus Nunes spoke like a man who has lived both sides of this tie. The former Porto midfielder now wears City blue and, for the moment, a right-back’s number on the teamsheet. He insists he is still a midfielder at heart. Maresca, as ever, sees a player who can simply solve problems.
O’Reilly hope, Doku doubt
The first concern was the team sheet. Two names were missing from the travelling squad: Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku.
O’Reilly, who pulled out of the warm-up before City’s win over Coventry at the weekend, has avoided serious damage. Maresca expects him to be in the frame for the Manchester derby on Sunday, a significant boost after the academy product’s bright pre-season. The coach spoke with clear optimism about having him back for United.
Doku’s situation is more complicated. Injured in the Community Shield and originally forecast to miss only a couple of weeks, the Belgium international has now sat out the start of the campaign and looks set to be absent for at least the first five matches of the season. Maresca stressed there has been no setback and that Doku is “back”, but admitted he does not know when the winger will actually be available. Porto comes too soon; the derby almost certainly does as well.
For a side that leans heavily on width and one‑v‑one threat, it is a notable hole.
Maresca’s City: same standards, new energy
If there were any doubts about the mood around the squad after a summer of change, Maresca and Nunes quickly dismissed them.
Nunes spoke of “new energy” around the training ground since Maresca’s arrival. Standards, he said, have been set high and enforced daily. The Italian has not tried to rip up what worked under Pep Guardiola, but he has added his own details, his own rhythm.
One of those touches is literally audible. Music now pours over training sessions and warm-ups, a habit Maresca brought with him from Leicester and Chelsea.
“When it is playing, they are happy,” he said. The players choose the playlist. The message is simple: work at maximum intensity, but enjoy the grind. A small thing, but in a long season, small things matter.
On the pitch, his instructions remain sharp. He spoke in depth about Rayan Cherki’s dual role, dropping to manage the tempo in City’s half, then stepping higher to deliver the final pass in the opposition third. He name‑checked Phil Foden as another who can split lines between the pockets. The detail underlined a broader point: Maresca wants control, but he also wants incision.
Haaland the captain, Haaland the man
Erling Haaland’s name surfaced more than once, and not just for his goals.
“He is the second captain,” Maresca said, underlining the Norwegian’s growing influence inside the dressing room. “He is a figure. He has won everything for the club.” The coach spoke with clear satisfaction about Haaland’s leadership “growing”, describing him as a top character who “deserves” that responsibility.
Then came a more personal note. Maresca pointed out that Haaland is now “a man, a dad”, his life transformed since he first arrived. The striker, he said, is now complete: top-class player, top-class guy, family man.
With that comes a different kind of management. The head coach did not hide the strain of Haaland’s schedule.
“It’s not easy for Erling,” he admitted, grouping him with all those who carry heavy minutes for club and country. When the signs of fatigue appear, Maresca believes the only correct response is rest, whether for a game or a week. His job, as he framed it, is to ensure that whoever steps onto the pitch is 100 per cent fit and 100 per cent committed. Reputation will not override readiness.
Nunes: right-back today, midfielder always
If Haaland’s role is expanding, Nunes’ is shifting sideways.
The Portugal international has been asked to operate at right-back, a move that would jar for many midfielders. Not for him.
“I can play any position,” he said. “I feel happy at right-back.” Still, he made it clear how he sees himself: a midfielder who loves to drive forward and attack, no matter where he starts on the teamsheet.
He trusts the “Mister” to decide. When Maresca picks a role, Nunes will fill it. He also left the door open to further tweaks, hinting that there will be games where he steps into other positions as the coach’s plan demands.
His own fitness, at least, is no longer in question. A tackle in training before the Arsenal match left him with an ankle issue that disrupted the start of his season, but he declared himself “100 per cent” and ready.
Porto’s evolution and a “beautiful duel”
For Nunes, Porto is not just another name in the draw. It is a club he knows, a stadium where he understands the noise and the pressure.
“It is going to be tough,” he said simply. “All teams have great players.” He picked out Pepe, calling him a “great forward” who is strong with both feet, and smiled at the thought of “a beautiful duel” to come.
Pressed on whether this was City’s most complicated tie so far, he refused to rank it. Arsenal was complicated. Crystal Palace was complicated. Porto sit in the same bracket: one of the best teams in Portugal, dangerous, demanding, and unforgiving if you switch off.
Nunes has also noticed how Porto have changed since his time in the league. Then, he remembered, the game there leaned heavily on transitions. Now, he sees a side that “really enjoy playing”, that “enjoy controlling the game”. The fighting spirit remains part of their DNA, but the style has evolved.
Maresca echoed the respect. He described Porto as a “very, very good team” with a clear way of playing and offered straightforward congratulations for how defined their style has become. He expects a hard place to visit, a difficult ground, and a game that will decide its own favourites.
“We are here to do our best,” he said. The aim, as always with City, is simple: win.
Set-pieces, spending and the new format
Maresca has studied Porto’s threat at dead balls and knows what awaits. Set-pieces, he said, have become a fundamental part of modern football. You must defend them “in the right way” and be ruthless enough to score from your own. There is no room for half-measures; he demanded perfection in those moments.
He also brushed aside the noise around City’s transfer spending. With this club, he accepted, the expectation is always higher. That comes with the badge. His focus, he insisted, stays on the day-to-day, on seeing tangible improvement from his team rather than carrying the weight of outside judgment.
The Champions League itself has shifted shape, with a new format to navigate. Maresca did not dwell on the mechanics. For him, the competition remains what it has always been: special, unforgiving, and brutally simple in the knockout rounds. You do not play well, you go out. The Premier League offers space to recover. Europe does not.
He has felt that pressure before. He was on the staff during City’s Treble season and had strong experiences with Chelsea in the competition. The lesson he draws is clear: whatever the format, City must stay true to themselves.
Nunes framed it even more bluntly. The Champions League, he said, is the most difficult tournament. City want to win it every season. This year is no different.
New faces, same ambition
Around all this, the squad continues to evolve. Nunes praised the club’s work in the market, calling the incoming players “incredible” and pointing out that many were the standout performers at their previous teams. Players leave, players arrive. The job for those already inside the dressing room, he said, is to help the new signings settle quickly. So far, he insisted, they are “very happy” to be at City.
Inside the club, there is no sense of easing off. Maresca’s tweaks, the music, the positional experiments, the emphasis on leadership and rest, all feed into a single demand: stay at the top, stay there properly.
Porto will test that resolve under European lights. A hostile ground, a reshaped format, an injury or two, a coach taking his first Champions League steps as City’s main man.
For a club that has made winning look routine, the question now is simple: can Maresca’s City make this competition theirs again, on his terms?
