On Tuesday, the warm-up for the 2026/27 season is over for Manchester City. Then the Champions League journey begins, starting with Porto. Enzo Maresca has with three wins from the first three Premier League games ensured that the loss of Pep Guardiola is not as great as it could have been. Now the Italian shows he has understood what will be very important going forward – securing his greatest attacking resource.
Guardiola knew he could have used Erling Haaland for more games, but at a price. 1.95 meters of muscle and mass in constant battle with defenders needs more recovery. Erling Haaland has three goals in three games, coach Maresca does exactly as Guardiola with his Norwegian super striker: Regular rest is just as important as playing regularly.
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With the Premier League, Champions League and English League Cup on the agenda, Maresca City supporters are announcing in advance that he will look after his Norwegian goal machine.
“Right now he has played every single minute except for the Community Shield. We have to look after Erling because the season is very long and he will have games where he needs to recover,” Maresca said on City’s website.
Maresca also emphasizes that Antoine Semenyo and Phil Foden can play the position of central striker. Haaland must be “protected” to be able to deliver the whole season. Ståle Solbakken thanks and bows.
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