Maresca: “FC Porto are aggressive on the ball, their style is clear” | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca previewed the meeting between Manchester City and FC Porto with clear praise for the identity of the team coached by Francesco Farioli, without prematurely accepting the favorite label. At the press conference, the English manager also addressed Erling Haaland’s current form and the management of players who joined the season later due to the 2026 World Cup. About the Dragons, he warned: “They are a very good team.”

Faced with an FC Porto side that started the league well and, in European competitions, has lost only once in its recent matches, Enzo Maresca put the level of demand at the center of the conversation. The Manchester City coach spoke of an aggressive team, an opponent strong from set pieces, and the need to find balance in the physical management of his squad.

Asked about his assessment of FC Porto, Maresca highlighted the clarity of Porto’s model and the team’s ability to cause problems with and without the ball. The coach also pointed to set pieces as a decisive aspect of the preparation for the match.

“They are a very good team. They have different players, but the way they play is very clear,” Maresca said. “They are aggressive without the ball and with the ball they have their own style of play. I know they are very good from set pieces and that has become part of the game. We have to do our best to defend them. You have to be perfect because every team is prepared for that.”

The coach’s words paint an opponent that cannot be reduced to one phase of the game. The reference to set pieces reinforces the idea that, against a well-prepared team, every detail can matter.

On Manchester City’s status as favorites, Maresca refused to turn the preview into an exercise in hierarchies. He preferred to leave the answer to the pitch and to the difficulty of playing in this stadium.

“We are here to do our best; the football on the pitch will dictate who the favorite is,” he said. “Playing in this stadium is difficult, they started the league well and in their last matches in Europe they have only lost once.”

The tone was pragmatic and left no room for complacency. Maresca acknowledged FC Porto’s favorable context, leaving the discussion about favoritism to the 90 minutes on the field.

The conversation then turned to Erling Haaland and the striker’s development in recent years. Maresca linked that transformation to a new personal phase, now marked by fatherhood.

“Now he is a man. He is a father. When he arrived at the club he wasn’t, now he is and life changes,” he explained. “The priority now is his son. He was already a very good player and a very good person, now he is complete. He is a family man and he scores goals.”

More than a strictly footballing reading, the coach sketched a portrait of maturity. In Maresca’s view, the change off the pitch goes hand in hand with the fulfillment he sees in the player.

Finally, the coach addressed the situation of the players who started the season later after being at the World Cup. The concern was recovery, injury prevention, and the need to have the group in proper condition.

“It’s not easy for them. It’s not easy for the players who were at the World Cup. I think that at this moment it is normal to give that type of player a rest,” he stressed. “It depends on the moment we are in. The priority is to make sure they are happy, fit, and avoid injuries. We need 11 players at 100 percent.”

Management, then, does not appear as a concession, but as a competitive necessity. Maresca placed the players’ well-being and physical condition on the same level as the response he expects from the team on the pitch.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.