Manchester City players are content to trust Enzo Maresca and believe he has what it takes to keep the club at the peak of English football.
Maresca and City claimed a second successive Premier League victory on Friday with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Rayan Cherki also found the net twice as City produced their most convincing performance of the season so far. Elliot Anderson, who made his first Etihad appearance on the night, said he is already adjusting his game to meet Maresca’s demands.
“I think I gotta be a little more structured,” Anderson said. “I’m learning to stay a bit more in my position.”
The midfielder said he felt increasingly comfortable with the manager’s approach as City followed their opening win with another three points.
“I felt more at home today,” Anderson said. “My first outing at the Etihad was special though I felt very nervous and two wins from two is great. Everyone is really happy and everyone gave their all. The game plan went just as we wanted.”
Track Manchester City’s season here.
Haaland was equally positive about the changes under Maresca and singled out Anderson for praise.
“Elliot [Anderson] was incredible,” Haaland said. “We have to trust the system, and we trust Enzo [Maresca] and what he wants to do.”
Haaland opened the scoring with a header from Antoine Semenyo’s cross before adding his second late on. Cherki scored twice in the second half, although City conceded an unusual own goal when a Yeremy Pino free-kick rebounded off Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Cheeky 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/CitbcAx0K4
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 28, 2026
Cherki’s two goals came as an emphatic riposte after Maresca had decided to replace him for having too little impact in the first half.
“When I saw Enzo [Maresca] was going to change me, I didn’t like that – I need to show I want to play and want to score and give assists for Erling [Haaland],” Cherki said. “Today I didn’t give a lot of balls for him. Next time I want to give Erling a lot of balls.”
The France international also admitted that his first-half performance had fallen below his own expectations.
“My performance is so-so,” he said. “In the first half, we didn’t find the space, I played bad. I need to show them I want to play, I want to score. Next time I want to give the ball around more.”
