Enzo Maresca says Manchester City must be more clinical after their unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice for the hosts, either side of Erling Haaland’s second-half equaliser, as Manchester City suffered their first league defeat under Maresca.
City recovered from a difficult start and had chances to take something from the game, but Villa made more of their opportunities. Maresca was disappointed with the result rather than the overall performance and felt there were lessons his side could take from their first league setback of the campaign.
Here are four takeaways from the City manager’s post-match comments.
Maresca felt City deserved more
Maresca believed City did enough to leave Villa Park with at least a point after recovering from Jackson’s early opener. The visitors initially struggled to settle because Villa lined up differently to how City had expected, but Maresca felt his side adjusted and gradually took control. Haaland’s equaliser early in the second half appeared to put them in a strong position before Jackson restored Villa’s lead.
“It was a good game, good performance but unfortunately we lost,” Maresca told BBC Match of the Day. “I think we did enough to get something more. We learn and move on.”
That was largely the tone of his assessment afterwards. There was frustration at losing a game City had worked their way back into, but little suggestion that Maresca had major concerns about the performance.
City must make more of their chances
Where Maresca did see room for improvement was in the final third. City got themselves into good positions often enough, but Haaland’s header was their only reward. Villa were far more efficient. Jackson took the opportunities that came his way, and his second came at a point when City appeared to have the greater momentum following Haaland’s equaliser.
“We lost because we probably are not being clinical enough in their box,” Maresca said. “Sometimes you probably need to be a little bit more accurate in the last third and try to score goals.”
It was a simple distinction for the City manager. He felt his side had created enough to get a result, but Villa were better at making the decisive moments count.
Villa’s change caught City out
Maresca also admitted City needed time to adjust to Villa’s approach at the start of the game. “We struggled the first 10-15 minutes because we expected them one way but they were different,” he told Match of the Day. “We adjusted then controlled the game.”
By then City were already behind, with Jackson scoring after six minutes. They recovered and grew into the contest, but Villa remained dangerous when they were able to break quickly.
Maresca knew that was likely to be part of the game against Unai Emery’s side and accepted City would not be able to stop every counter-attack. His disappointment was that Villa were able to punish them when those opportunities came, particularly with the winning goal so soon after City had drawn level.
Maresca wants City to learn from defeat
City had won their opening seven league matches under Maresca, so Villa Park provided the first test of how his side respond to a Premier League defeat. The manager was encouraged by their reaction during the game. City continued to push after falling behind for a second time, and Maresca praised the spirit of his players, even though they could not find another equaliser.
“We fought until the end, and that was very good,” he said. “The spirit was good; we can take something from that, and we’ll move on.”
City now turn their attention to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Brighton at the Etihad Stadium before facing the same opponents in the Premier League next weekend.
For Maresca, the task is to take the useful parts of the Villa performance into those games while improving in the areas which cost City on Saturday. They created opportunities and responded well to going behind, but Villa were the side who made their important moments count.
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