Five from five: how Enzo Maresca has made Manchester City his own

Replacing the most successful manager in Manchester City’s history was never going to be simple, but Enzo Maresca could hardly have asked for a better start. City won each of their first five Premier League matches to sit top with 15 points, three clear of Arsenal.

The run included a 1–0 derby win at Old Trafford on 13 September, played in front of the season’s largest crowd so far, and a chaotic 5–3 victory over Sunderland a week later — the highest-scoring game of the campaign at that point.

Maresca, appointed on a three-year deal in late June, knows the club well: he coached City’s youth sides and was Pep Guardiola’s senior assistant in the 2018–19 domestic treble season, before winning the Championship with Leicester and coaching Chelsea.

His teams are built on patient possession and full-backs who step into midfield, principles that fit naturally with what City’s players already know. Up front, Erling Haaland led the scoring charts with five goals after five rounds — a reminder that the system still runs through its No. 9.