Maresca on Manchester Derby: Adapt or Fall Behind
Enzo Maresca brushed aside the noise around the fixture list and sent a clear message before his first Manchester derby: adapt or fall behind.
Manchester City head into Sunday’s Premier League showdown with two extra days’ rest compared with Manchester United. City wrapped up a controlled 2-0 win away at Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night. United, by contrast, were still running riot on Thursday, hammering Sabah 4-0 under Michael Carrick.
On paper, it is an obvious advantage. Maresca refused to treat it as such.
The Italian instead reached back to last season, when City were on the other side of the equation before a huge clash with Arsenal. Back then, the Gunners played away at Athletic Club in the early Tuesday kick-off, while City were dragged through a late 20:00 BST start against Napoli on the Thursday.
Pep Guardiola, in his typically dry way, joked at the time that he would take his players “hiking in the mountains” to get them ready for the Emirates Stadium. The schedule didn’t change. City had to.
Maresca’s tone was similar, minus the punchline.
“To be honest, the club mentioned to me that it happened exactly the same last year when the club played Napoli and then, after two days, played Arsenal,” he told BBC Sport when asked about the derby build-up. “Sometimes it happens in football. I don't have any doubt that Man United are going to be ready for that. It just matters to adapt.”
The calendar has only become more brutal. The expanded Champions League format now forces clubs through two extra group-stage fixtures before the end of January. English sides then stack that on top of domestic duties, including the Carabao Cup.
There is no let-up for either side of Manchester. City host Norwich in the third round next Thursday. United face Brighton at Old Trafford the night before. The treadmill keeps moving.
“I think that happens and you need to adapt,” Maresca said when pressed on whether these things even out over a season. “It happened last year with us, this season with them, next season it will happen with a different team.”
Asked how Carrick might be feeling about the squeeze on his preparation time, Maresca refused to speculate. “That's a question for Michael. The only thing I can say is it happened and you need to adapt.”
What he could talk about, with more enthusiasm, was the derby itself.
This will be Maresca’s first taste of Manchester’s defining fixture as City manager, and he arrives in it with his team in sharp early-season form. Three Premier League games, three wins. A perfect start. United, by contrast, have stuttered to four points from their opening three matches.
“It is very important for different reasons,” Maresca said. “We know how important a derby is, especially here. It is a special game.”
He didn’t bite on talk of momentum, rest days or psychological edges. His focus stayed on identity.
“The most important thing we can do is try to be ourselves and then we see the final result.”
The schedule will keep twisting and tightening as the season wears on. Maresca has made his stance clear. The question now is whether City can keep being “themselves” when the stakes, and the strain, rise again on Sunday.
