Maresca hails Man City improvement and defends Dias after beating Porto | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City are continuing to improve every game after making a winning start to their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Porto.

Erling Haaland scored twice at the Estadio do Dragao as City followed up three successive Premier League victories with another win in Portugal.

Maresca was particularly pleased with the identity his side showed in a different environment, highlighting their aggression both with and without the ball.

“I said before the game to the players and also yesterday, it’s a different competition, different stadium, different environment,” Maresca said.

“But the most important thing is that we show who we are in this moment. We try to be again aggressive off the ball, on the ball, try to plan the game in the way we can win the game.

“And then in terms of where we are, or if it’s a quick process or not, I don’t know.

“For me, the most important thing is I can see game after game that the team is improving, and this is the most important thing.”

Stay up to date with all the latest Manchester City news by joining our Man City WhatsApp channel. 

Maresca was also asked about an incident between his captain Ruben Dias and Porto boss Francesco Farioli at half time when Dias appeared unhappy with the Italian coach.

The City boss pointed towards the behaviour of the two benches throughout the contest.

“You can ask what you want,” he said. “How many times have you seen me or my bench, or the guys that work with me, stand up on the bench? Zero. Ninety-five minutes.

“How many times have you seen their bench?”

If you enjoy our articles, help us out by making Hayters.com one of your preferred sources on Google by clicking here.