Enzo Maresca says Sunday’s Community Shield mauling won’t change City’s approach to the remainder of the transfer window, despite a debut to forget as the club’s new head coach.
City were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, falling behind inside the first minute when Riccardo Calafiori was slipped through by Myles Lewis-Skelly and finished from close range past his countryman Gianluigi Donnarumma. Kai Havertz added a second before the break, and Martin Odegaard put the game beyond reach with a quickfire goal early in the second half.
It was a chastening afternoon for Maresca in his first competitive match since replacing Pep Guardiola, but the Italian was keen to draw a line under it quickly. “In general, I’m always concerned even when we win games. So imagine now that we didn’t win the game, but we just started. This just is the beginning,” he said, adding that City would reset and turn their focus to Tuesday’s preparations for the Premier League opener.
Asked whether the result would prompt any late shift in transfer strategy, Maresca confirmed it would not. That’s a notable line given City go into the Bournemouth game still without Rodri, who only returned to training on Friday and remains strongly linked with a move to Barcelona.
Elliot Anderson made his first start following his club-record move, but City were overpowered in midfield by Bruno Guimarães and a rampant Lewis-Skelly. Plenty to work on before Bournemouth visit the Etihad on Sunday.
Source: ESPN
