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With Pep Guardiola's era potentially ending, all eyes are on Enzo Maresca. This tactical analysis explores how his possession-based, adaptable system, which treats the pitch like a chessboard, makes him the perfect successor.
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00:00So, Enzo Maresca is going to be taking over at Manchester City, replacing Pep Guardiola at the end of the
00:04season.
00:05But how will his tactics translate to English football's most dominant force?
00:10Well, from finding partnerships across the pitch to pinning the opposition in with the ball.
00:15I'm Jacob Horsfall, 4-4-2's resident tactician, and this is how Enzo Maresca could dominate with Manchester City.
00:25Before we look at which players get in where, we first got to understand Enzo Maresca's managerial philosophy.
00:31Maresca titled his coaching thesis Football and Chess.
00:35Obviously, comparing a football pitch to a chessboard, and how different players can act as almost pawns as part of
00:41a bigger plan.
00:42Big credit to John Muller, who put that on Twitter, by the way.
00:45In Maresca's first Chelsea season, he made 419 changes throughout the course of that season.
00:50And I think that directly links to the chess-like approach, because he's constantly tweaking and adapting his style of
00:57play to suit the opposition, but still maintaining his core principles.
01:02Here, we see those chess pieces sort of form in different zones of the pitch.
01:07The three-back horseshoe at the back here is a common theme for Maresca's in-possession plan, and I suppose
01:12they can be almost like your pawns, in a sense, on a chessboard.
01:15You then have the two in front of the back line, and I suppose they're almost like your knights,
01:19because they are operating in different ways.
01:22They're either sitting in front to receive the ball, or they'll be making moves into the half spaces to stretch
01:27the opposition's midfield block.
01:28You've then got your front line, who are your more aggressive players, the ones who are going to go and
01:33take the opposition's pieces.
01:35The problem that Maresca had with Chelsea was the balance in that attack just wasn't right.
01:39At Leicester, the attack had Fatawu and Mavadidi on the wings, Mavadidi more ball-to-feet, and Fatawu more of
01:46a direct runner.
01:47He then had Jamie Vardy in Dewsbury Hall, Vardy being the runner, and Dewsbury Hall being more ball-to-feet.
01:53The premise is to have a sort of firing ice dynamic, not just in attack, but across the entire pitch.
01:59Having profiles who complement one another makes adaptability in-game so much easier.
02:04On the 16th of December, 2025, Maresca stated, we've tried to find the right balance,
02:10which I think is something that everyone has struggled with at Chelsea.
02:13But at Manchester City, will it be any different?
02:17Well, let's imagine it'll be a 4-2-3-1 starting formation, something that Maresca has looked back on throughout
02:22his managerial career.
02:23For me, the choice in goal is simple, but for other people, I suppose it's a debatable topic.
02:28Donnarumma has been pretty good this season, making some saves that not many other keepers in the division would make.
02:33But this situation is a problem.
02:36Look how deep Manchester City are, because Donnarumma can't play further forward.
02:41He can play those sideways passes to the split centre-backs or to the tight midfielders,
02:45but if they were to go a little bit further up and try to receive in the pockets, Donnarumma can't
02:51find them.
02:52That's not a critique of Donnarumma, because he's not necessarily doing something wrong.
02:56It's more about the things that he just can't do.
02:59It's just not in his skill set, it's not in his arsenal.
03:01He can't play those passes.
03:03So, in goal, I'd have James Trafford.
03:05In a possession-based system, Trafford can free up these four players to allow them to push a little bit
03:09further forward,
03:11which ultimately puts less pressure on his team, because the opposition are then going to be pinned back by those
03:16City players pushing forwards.
03:18Now, that leads us on to the centre-halves, and I think Enzo Maresca will be very happy with them
03:22profiles that he's got at his disposal.
03:23We talked earlier about fire and ice as a metaphor for complementary partnerships.
03:28Now, Maresca at Chelsea, I would probably say those complementary partnerships are Levi Cowell and Wesley Fafana.
03:34Cowell is probably more of a recovery defender, and Fafana is someone who can be a bit more aggressive.
03:39But the important thing is, with Maresca, both can do either job.
03:42If we shift it to Man City terms, I would say that Gwehi and Kusinov are similar, but at a
03:48higher level.
03:49In these positions, Mark Ghehi wants to engage, whilst Kusinov is an athletic freak, so he can eat up any
03:54ground behind them, which gives you that fire and ice.
03:57Someone who wants to be aggressive, hit the first man, win the first contact, but someone who can deal with
04:02pretty much anything that goes wrong.
04:04Well, Kusinov can deal with anything at this moment in time. He can do no wrong.
04:10So, that's our centre-halves, and now we have the full-backs, but these sort of intertwine with the midfielders.
04:16To come back to the idea of balance, the full-backs and midfielders, for me, almost blur the lines between
04:20positions across the four of them.
04:22And Maresca full-back needs to be capable of playing in all four zones on their side of the pitch.
04:27The importance of that is that, when the game goes on and tweaks need to be made, Maresca can change
04:32things, can make adaptations, without having to make huge wholesale changes.
04:37You look at a partnership of Kukurea and James, and you see two players who can both be a third
04:42centre-back, both invert into midfield, and both operate in the attacking spaces, both centrally and on the outside.
04:49So, do Man City have those types of full-backs?
04:53Well, at left-back, I think Nico O'Reilly is a perfect fit.
04:56He kind of gives you everything you would possibly want from that sort of fluid, versatile full-back in a
05:00Maresca system.
05:01His heat map shows him operating across basically the whole pitch, whether that's dominating the wide areas, or operating on
05:07that inside area, and even the opposition's box.
05:10Now, I know he has been deployed as a midfielder at times, which obviously influences the stats, influences his heat
05:15map, for example.
05:16But, look at where Kukurea is here. He's a midfielder in this passage of play.
05:21Therefore, I think that Nico O'Reilly comes into that position and can do the midfield job and the outside
05:26job to a really, really nice level.
05:29So, that moves us on to the right-back, and I think that's a little bit different here for Manchester
05:32City.
05:33Pep Guardiola has transformed Mateus Nunez into a really good right full-back who can do pretty much everything to
05:39a serviceable level.
05:40And, you know what? There would be nothing wrong with him being Enzo Maresca's starting man.
05:44I think either way, he's going to get a ton of minutes under Enzo Maresca.
05:48However, I wonder if Maresca will come in and look for a slightly different profile, someone who brings you a
05:55little bit more on the ball.
05:57As I said earlier, this position needs to be able to do everything.
06:00They need to be able to go on the inside. They need to be able to get into the box.
06:02They need to be able to go into the right half space on the edge of the opponent's box.
06:06So, I've got a certain man in mind who could potentially be an outside shout for Man City to go
06:12and get and bring back to the Premier League.
06:15It's Trent Alexander-Arnold. I know it's a bit out there, but he would be perfect.
06:21He's played just 1,163 lead minutes this season, and he's someone who, for me, fits that chess-like approach.
06:29Have him in the half spaces, creating chances like Rhys James did under Enzo Maresca, and wow, that sounds beautiful.
06:37But, for now, from what City have currently got, I think Matthias Nunez is the man who goes in at
06:41right-back.
06:43But, if a cheeky Trent was to pop about, let's just say I wouldn't complain.
06:48The midfield is next up for discussion, and to be honest with you, it's a bit different for Man City.
06:52I think, over the years, City have always had a tap-in, you know who their starting midfielders are, they're
06:57kind of the core of a pep team, but it's a little bit different at the moment.
07:01Bernardo Silva is leaving at the end of the season, and Rodri is struggling to hit consistency since his injury,
07:06which means there's almost a sort of gap in the market for a midfield to really step up and take
07:11the reins under Enzo Maresca.
07:13But, what do they need to be able to do to take those reins?
07:17Well, as I said, these four positions can be seen to intertwine.
07:20In games that Maresca wants to attack more, expect to see two of these players, let's say the right-hand
07:25side, to push on, create almost a 3-1-2-3-1.
07:29On the flip side, though, again, it's all about that balance.
07:32If Maresca goes away to the Emirates, he's not going to bomb two of these players on and sacrifice having
07:37two of his core defensive players.
07:40Therefore, both midfielders have to have a few different things.
07:43High energy, they've got to be able to cover the distance.
07:46It's positional awareness.
07:47There's lots of rotations in a Maresca team, and they need to be able to manage the space left by
07:51those rotations.
07:53And high technical ability is a non-negotiable.
07:56Now, if Rodri was to stay at the club, you'd expect he is the man that goes in there, operating
08:00in sort of a Caicedo role.
08:02That Caicedo role means almost exclusively dominating this area of the pitch and constantly being an option to recycle possession.
08:09And then when we go next to him, well, that's where the issue is really there.
08:16Tajani Reindiaz is a possibility.
08:18In possession, he makes perfect sense.
08:20Out of possession, yeah, I'm not really a big fan.
08:24He's just not competitive enough.
08:25He's not someone who will put the hard yards in and win those duels consistently.
08:29Obviously, Maresca is a possession-based coach who wants to play attacking football, but he's also pragmatic in a sense.
08:36He wants to minimise the transition risk, so defensive output is really important.
08:41So, I'm going to do something interesting.
08:43We've got Nico O'Reilly at left back in this case.
08:46I'm going to move him into midfield, and we're going to pop in Ryan Aitnuri at left back.
08:52Aitnuri ticks all the boxes required as that versatile fallback.
08:56And O'Reilly, as we've already mentioned, has progressed quite significantly this season in the middle of the pitch.
09:01Which leaves us with this.
09:03We've now got the big four positions to talk about.
09:05Well, three, actually, because Haaland is going up top.
09:09But the rest of the attack is a little bit more up in the air.
09:12We mentioned that fire and ice earlier, and the attack is no different.
09:16We've got that question of getting the balance right.
09:19Aitnuri's attack at Leicester City gave us the blueprint for Manchester City under him.
09:24I say that because, despite the league difference, the situation is similar.
09:28He won the league with Leicester and was able to punch down on teams with sheer quality.
09:33Unlike when he was at Chelsea.
09:35However, he obviously still had a plan for his Leicester attack.
09:37Almost everything went through Kian and Dewsbury Hall as that ball-to-feet creator.
09:41Whilst Jamie Vardy and Abdel Fattah, who stretched the pitch and acted as constant running threats.
09:46Mareska trusted Dewsbury Hall so much as that creator, as that sort of outlet player, that he actually took him
09:52to Chelsea.
09:54Yeah, he loves his number 10s that much.
09:57So, in the Manchester City version of a Mareska attack, I think I'd be giving the reins to Ryan Shirky.
10:02In the league, he's Manchester City's top chance creator this season, despite playing just 1,720 league minutes.
10:08He thrives in tight spaces and gives Mareska a level he's simply just not had before.
10:14At Chelsea, Enzo Mareska struggled against those low-block sides.
10:17But for me, the reasoning is clear.
10:19When you look at his typical attack, you like that balance.
10:22There's lots of runners and minimal small-space technicians who can receive and create their own space.
10:27Cole Palma is probably the closest and he's not really a superstar in those small spaces.
10:32So, just imagine Mareska with Ryan Shirky as his ball-to-feet number 10.
10:37I reckon that a lot of those low-block issues are solved pretty quickly.
10:42Now, that leads us on to the wingers and we've got to get this right.
10:45The balance has to be correct.
10:47Phil Foden is someone who I think will have a great time under Enzo Mareska.
10:50Whether that's going to be rotating with Ryan Shirky or potentially being a ball-to-feet winger out wide.
10:55But when I look at this team, I just don't think Foden gives us the balance that we need out
11:00wide.
11:01Therefore, I'm going with Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo as the wingers.
11:05Doku is arguably the best 1v1 winger in the world.
11:08He sits second in the Premier League for successful dribbles per 90 with only Rio Engamoa above him.
11:13But their difference in minutes is just astonishing.
11:16If you task Doku with being that runner, you take where his best trade.
11:19He wants to get the ball-to-feet, square up a man 1v1, beat him and wrap that ball into
11:25the back of the net.
11:26If Doku and Shirky are in this team, then we've got our two more ball-to-feet players who provide
11:31balance, creativity and ball retention when needs must.
11:34Although, I could see Phil Foden slotting in if ball retention is priority in certain games.
11:40The balance for those two who are going to constantly want the ball, who are going to be trying to
11:44get the ball with their back to goal,
11:45is to have Erling Haaland up top and Antoine Semenyo on the right wing.
11:50Which gives Maresca those multiple angles to goal that he wants.
11:54And the perfect harmony of balance that he craves.
11:58It is obviously sad that Pep's leaving Manchester City, the greatest manager in my lifetime, by a million miles.
12:05But, I think Enzo Maresca, with his game model, with the way he wants to play football, can maintain the
12:11level set you're at.
12:13If, he can take the pressure and step up to having to compete for titles.
12:19If you have enjoyed today's video, then please leave a like and subscribe.
12:21We'll be back again next week, we're getting ready for the World Cup.
12:24Come on, it's coming home, maybe.
12:27And I'll see you all next week.
12:29Peace.
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