The new manager will need time to follow in Pep Guardiola's footsteps and come up with a winning formula after some devastating departures
Pep Guardiola signed off his glittering 10-year Manchester City career on a high, masterminding a 1-0 FA Cup final win against Chelsea to complete a domestic double after the team's Carabao Cup triumph in March. However, most City fans would admit that the 2025-26 season was a disappointment.
City ultimately failed to win the Premier League title for a second year in a row, finishing seven points behind champions Arsenal, and suffered a humiliating 5-1 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. By their lofty standards, that was not nearly good enough.
In a way, that makes Enzo Maresca's task less daunting. He has not inherited the same level of squad that he coached alongside Guardiola in 2022-23 when City swept to the treble, and is thus not under pressure to repeat that success. But that does not mean he is not fighting an uphill battle; City are entering a transitional period that is guaranteed to bring frustration, and Maresca will still come under pressure if they don't at least put themselves in the mix for the biggest prizes...