Advertisement
Maresca hails Manchester City’s intensity after emphatic Palace victory
29th August, 2026 06:47 AM
Manager Enzo Maresca was pleased with more than just Manchester City’s attacking quality after they produced an impressive 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Friday night, August 28, 2026 at Selhurst Park.
The result saw City collect their second straight Premier League win, giving them a perfect six points from their opening two matches. Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki were the stars of the evening, with both players finding the net twice.
However, Maresca placed particular emphasis on the commitment shown by his players when they did not have possession of the ball.
City endured a difficult opening spell as their initial pressing approach failed to work as intended. The team subsequently made adjustments and gained greater control of proceedings.
“I think the performance overall was good,” he said.
“We struggled for the first five or ten minutes because we were pressing in the wrong way and then we adjusted something.
“We were in control. We scored four and could probably could have scored more and we didn’t concede chances.
“Especially I liked the sacrifice and the desire off the ball.
“If we are able to match the desire and intensity of different opponents, I think with the quality that we have, we can do something important.
“We were good on the ball but also very, very good off the ball.” He added.
Cherki’s impact
Enzo Maresca also hailed what he described as a complete performance from two-goal Rayan Cherki after Friday’s superb performance.
The French midfield maverick produced a quite stunning display at Selhurst Park conjuring up a brilliant brace of second half goals as City made it two wins out of two in the league to go top.
For the first, he waltzed through a number of Palace defenders before then despatching a sublime finish before then smashing home a spectacular second shortly after.
With Erling Haaland also weighing in with a brace of goals either side of Cherki’s exploits, it made for a fine night’s work and much to savour for Maresca after two wins out of two.
Not least yet more magic from Cherki after his two assists from the bench last week in our opening day 2-1 home win against Bournemouth.
“For sure he’s happy. His performance for me was very good not just the two goals but the way he worked off the ball,” Maresca said.
“When Palace had the ball, he was in charge of Adam Wharton, I think his game was a complete game on the ball and off the ball.
“Probably he was not playing at his level in the first half.
“But we were happy with his performance off the ball. Then second half he scored twice and for sure he’s much more happy.
“First of all, he loves football. So that makes it easier to work with him.
“Rayan is like this, we know how good he is.
“We know the quality that he has.
“In this moment, he is helping the team with the numbers in term of goals and assists and no doubt he’s going to help more in the future.” Maresca said.
The manager believes City’s technical ability, combined with the same level of determination and intensity, could put the side in a strong position as the campaign progresses.
Maresca will now look for his players to maintain those standards in the matches ahead as City seek to build on their perfect start to the new Premier League season.
