Antoine Semenyo hails ‘amazing’ Enzo Maresca and reveals tactical tweak after eye-catching Inter display | OneFootball

Antoine Semenyo has paid tribute to Enzo Maresca after Manchester City’s pre-season defeat to Inter Milan on penalties in Hong Kong, revealing a deliberate tactical adjustment to his game he has been working on under the new manager.

The 26-year-old was one of the brighter performers in City’s opening pre-season fixture, with the Ghana international using his pace and directness to trouble Inter’s backline throughout a game City ultimately lost on penalties after a competitive showing from Maresca’s touring squad.

Semenyo spoke to the media after the final whistle, touching on his personal preparation, the reception City received in Hong Kong and a specific tactical self-improvement he has identified in his own game – pointing to a shift in how he approaches opponents in one-versus-one situations that reflects the influence of Maresca’s meticulous approach in training.

The result was a 3-1 defeat on penalties after the sides had been level at the end of normal time, a result Maresca and his staff will take in their stride given the developmental nature of a fixture played without a significant portion of the first-team group still on post-World Cup rest.

His comments on Maresca specifically build on the picture Antoine Semenyo has been painting since arriving in east Asia – of a manager who has immediately won the trust and enthusiasm of those in the touring squad through the quality and detail of his work on the training pitch.

Semenyo: The new manager has been amazing & I’m changing it up a little!

Speaking after the final whistle in Hong Kong, Semenyo said: “I’ve been keeping myself in shape and yeah, I feel good. It’s been a great pre-season and the new manager has been amazing.

“Everyone’s enjoying it. The fans over here have been fantastic and they are so passionate – it’s all been enjoyable so far.”

On the tactical dimension of his game he has been working on, the forward added: “I feel sometimes when watching my clips I’m dominantly on my right foot so I try to change it up a little.

“Once I go down the line a couple times in their head they think ‘am I going to go down the line again’ and it’s then the opportunity to go the right.”

What do Semenyo’s comments tell us about Maresca’s influence at Man City?

The self-analysis Semenyo describes is precisely the kind of detail-oriented thinking that Maresca’s training sessions are designed to encourage, with the forward having previously noted that the new manager’s eye for detail bears comparison with what players experienced under Pep Guardiola.

A winger who can convincingly threaten on both feet becomes exponentially more difficult to defend against, and Semenyo’s willingness to consciously redistribute his attacking instincts across both sides of his body – rather than defaulting to the dominant right – speaks directly to the kind of marginal gain thinking that Maresca appears to be embedding from the very first days of pre-season.

The warmth of the collective “everyone’s enjoying it” assessment reinforces the picture that has emerged from Hong Kong of a squad that has bought into Maresca’s methods quickly and with evident enthusiasm, an early cultural signal that will matter considerably more than any pre-season result when the Premier League campaign begins at the Etihad Stadium.

For Viana and the club’s hierarchy watching from Manchester as the transfer window continues to evolve around them, Semenyo’s account of what is happening on the training pitch in Asia is about as encouraging a report as they could receive at this stage of a new era they have invested significantly to get right.