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Nico: Manchester City still adjusting to Enzo Maresca’s tactical approach
04th August, 2026 04:23 PM
Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez has admitted the squad is still adapting to the ideas introduced by new head coach Enzo Maresca, stressing that understanding the Italian’s philosophy is an ongoing process rather than something that can be achieved overnight.
Maresca returned to the Etihad this summer to take charge of the senior side after previously managing City’s Elite Development Squad and later serving as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants during the club’s historic 2022/23 campaign.
The Spanish midfielder is among the 31 players currently travelling to Seoul following the team’s week-long stay in Hong Kong as part of their pre-season tour. After featuring for 45 minutes in City’s friendly against Inter, Nico is hoping to earn additional minutes when the Premier League champions face the K-League All Stars before taking on Atletico Madrid.
With the Community Shield just around the corner and the Premier League season set to begin shortly afterwards, Nico believes City are progressing well in their preparations. However, he acknowledged that fully mastering a new manager’s style requires patience.
“We won’t know everything that we could learn during the year before the first week of the season, but even when one year has passed, we will always keep learning,” Nico told the club on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
“That’s football and that’s life. It’s not easy because some players will come the same week as the Community Shield but for us that have been here since day one it’s going to be easier to be ready for that match.
“The season is so long so we have keep being ready to adapt to new things that Enzo asks us.
Nico explained that although Maresca has introduced his own methods, many aspects of City’s style remain familiar from Guardiola’s era, particularly the emphasis on pressing aggressively and controlling possession.
“I’ve been enjoying our sessions with Enzo. Obviously there are differences to last year with Pep, but there are a lot of similarities in the way we are playing. It’s the same whole idea of high pressure and getting the ball as quickly as possible and doing a lot of passes.
“It’s important that we keep the same level as we’ve been playing the last years and with that ambition. I think those are the ideas of Enzo and I am loving it.”
City have been putting in demanding training sessions in the challenging heat and humidity of Hong Kong before continuing their Asian tour in South Korea. Nico admitted the workload has been intense but believes it is essential as the squad prepares for a long campaign.
“I feel tired because we’ve been training a lot,” he began.
“That’s good though, we have to get used to this rhythm. It’s been a long summer, and we have to be ready and suffer a little bit.
“We did a good job against Inter, the ideas are getting more clear and that’s the most important thing for now.”
Manchester City will now continue their pre-season schedule with matches against the K-League All Stars and Atletico Madrid before returning home to complete preparations for the new domestic season, where Maresca will officially begin his first competitive campaign in charge.
