Fernandez brings foundation rather than fireworks after fake De Bruyne fuel | OneFootball

It remains to be seen what far less meaningful trophies Manchester City can add to their winning of the transfer window this season.

On the evidence of their latest unconvincing Premier League win – but nevertheless the third in as many games to kickstart Enzo Maresca’s reign – they should perhaps not expect too much.

In limping past a promoted side Arsenal dismantled on the opening weekend, Manchester City betrayed a far softer centre than the champions, less attacking coordination, and a far greater penchant for the absurd.

Even before what turned out to be the winning goal from Erling Haaland in the first half, Manchester City were curiously desperate to shoot themselves in the foot. Gianluigi Donnarumma was inches away from letting an Abdukodir Khusanov backpass roll across his line, Taiwo Awoniyi should have scored after intercepting a square Antoine Semenyo ball, and Marc Guehi conceded an unnecessary corner as the hosts seemed to become consumed with a blend of panic and carelessness.

Barely a minute separated Haaland from making a clearing header in his own six-yard box and crashing one past Carl Rushworth from a fine Semenyo cross at the other end.

The thought that taking the lead might have settled Manchester City was rather undermined by how they gradually grew out of the game rather than into it. Rayan Cherki, Enzo Fernandez and Haaland himself had presentable chances to double that lead but the longer Coventry repelled them, the more they seemed to recognise the vulnerability of their opponents.

Coventry had twice as many shots at the Etihad in the final 30 minutes than they mustered in 90 against Arsenal (eight to four). Donnarumma saved one with his face. Bobby Thomas, a centre-half making his third Premier League career appearance, had five efforts alone.

One came from a long throw which was allowed to bounce through to the back post; Mikel Arteta would have desecrated his technical area at the mere thought.

But the hosts held on, admittedly thankful for the wastefulness of Coventry, while also admiring their summer renovations.

Elliot Anderson was excellent in midfield, impervious to his new team’s tendency to make increasingly baffling decisions on the ball under pressure. His clever winning of fouls as the game went on was the closest anyone in blue came to game management or relieving the building pressure.

Anderson was the fulcrum around whom Manchester City operated in possession and off the ball, with Fernandez matching his passing range in his deployment wider on the right.

It was the more expensive of the nine-figure midfielders who created the goal, Fernandez passing incisively down the line for Semenyo. The Argentinean will be expected to bring far more to the table in the future, but provided stability and structure despite not even being meant to start.

An injury in the warm-up to Nico O’Reilly expedited a debut which lasted for 75 quietly solid minutes until the positively cheap Ayyoub Bouaddi made his Etihad introduction.

After an especially eventful few months for club and country, Fernandez would probably have settled for that if offered.

Even shortly before the game some fake quotes from Kevin De Bruyne denouncing his shirt number successor – and the idea Fernandez is “anywhere near the level I was playing at for Manchester City” – circulated online. They were picked up and subsequently quickly dropped by one apparently reputable outlet, which eventually realised that Kevin De Bruyne himself might not actually have channelled The Rock in saying “replacing Kevin De Bruyne is something completely different”.

That was never a role anyone at the club will have envisaged for Fernandez, beyond the purely symbolic inheritance of the No. 17. De Bruyne cannot be replaced, but Manchester City showed this summer that an entire midfield can be. Anderson and Fernandez will be literally central to whatever they hope to achieve in this and the next few seasons.