Enzo Maresca has told his Manchester City players they cannot keep leaning on Erling Haaland, with the Blues in Germany for Wednesday night’s Champions League trip to RB Leipzig.
The Erling Haaland numbers are fine on their own: 13 goals in all competitions already. The problem is everyone else. City drew a blank in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton, and none of their better chances really fell to the Norwegian. A week earlier, Maresca felt his side deserved more than a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Two league defeats in a row have left Manchester City three points behind Arsenal at the top. There is no recognised back-up striker in the squad, and Antoine Semenyo, the nearest thing to one, is out until Christmas.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference in Germany on Tuesday evening, Maresca said: “It’s very important that in each game we create chances. When you have Erling inside the pitch, it’s better because you know he’s close to scoring goals.
“We cannot rely on Erling in every game; we need the rest to score goals but the last game against Brighton was the only game of the season where we didn’t score. If Erling is in the pitch we are happy but we need the rest to score goals.”
Who else has to step up for City?
The supporting cast around Haaland keeps changing. Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are fighting over more or less the same role, and the midfield is still settling: Ayyoub Bouaddi started next to Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez against Brighton, and a trio City were excited about never got going.
Cherki’s case for more minutes is already strong, as we saw when he set up two goals in 27 minutes off the bench and still found himself back among the substitutes. Maresca was clear that he likes the headache.
On Foden, the City boss said: “I see Phil day by day better and better for sure, 100 per cent. I’ve already said many times that he is going to give us many things this season. We have many games in all competitions and 20 senior players, all of them very good. It’s good to have competition between them. Phil and Rayan are more or less in the same position. I’m very happy in the way Phil is working every day.”
He also hinted at a bigger attacking role for Anderson down the line: “I think at this moment he is playing in the position that is best for him but no doubt in the future he can play as a number eight and arrive in the box because he has a good pass and can score goals.”
Foden says the break did him good
Foden sat alongside his manager and sounded like a player who believes he is on the way back. His red card in the Manchester derby cost him a month without a game, but he has six goals and assists from three starts since, including a hat-trick in City’s last Champions League match.
“I think personally it’s gone really well,” Foden said. “Obviously I had the unfortunate red card against United, but the break has done me good. I think I came back really fresh minded and sharp. I’ve been involved in a lot of goals recently, so I’ve been really happy with my performance.”
The 26-year-old, who missed out on the World Cup this summer, wants the form that made him Premier League player of the year in 2023-24, and an England recall with it. He has not spoken to Thomas Tuchel since the summer. “Hopefully I can get back to that level. I think I’m starting to get back there now in my recent performances,” he said. “Hopefully one day the call-up might come back.”
Asked about life after Pep Guardiola, Foden said: “It is similar stuff with Enzo and for me personally I still play different positions with him. I am more understanding than other players because I have played for him in the past.” He declined to answer a question about the charges case, saying he only wanted to talk about football.
Why Maresca is talking about 65 games
Maresca is still learning about a squad he only started working with in the summer, but the target has not changed: go deep in all four competitions. “We have so many games and we have so many good players. This is not a short run, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” he said. “We need to think about 65 games. For me it’s very important to win games in the way we are trying to do but it’s also very important to arrive in February or March when things are going to be exciting to have everyone available and fit.”
He has almost everyone for this one. City trained with a 23-man group on Tuesday morning before flying out, and Semenyo was the only senior absentee. We went through how we think Maresca lines up in our Man City predicted lineup vs RB Leipzig.
City have six points from three league phase games, and a win would move them into the top eight, the places that go straight through to the last 16. RB Leipzig are fourth in the Bundesliga after five wins and three defeats from eight games, and they won at Schalke at the weekend. They were thrashed 6-1 by Bayern Munich last month, though, and have only three points in Europe after defeats to Real Madrid and Como and a win over PSV, which leaves them 29th in the 36-team table.
Verdict: Haaland can’t carry Man City on his own
Maresca is right, and Brighton proved it. When the chances fall to the wrong players, City look ordinary, and with Semenyo out there is nobody to bring on who does what Haaland does. The answer has to be Foden and Cherki turning good spells into goals, every week rather than now and then.
Leipzig are the right opponent to start. Haaland put five past them in the Treble season, but the bigger worry is at the other end: City have let in early goals in their last two defeats. If Foden carries his form into Wednesday night and the defence stays switched on for the first 20 minutes, City should take the three points and a place in the top eight.
