Behind after 23 seconds, Maresca's Manchester City lose 3–0 to Arsenal, and all three goals come down the same side.
The numbers
| Manchester City | Arsenal | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 59% | 41% |
| Shots | 12 | 9 |
| xG | 1.12 | 2.16 |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester City 19% / 20% / Arsenal 61% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Anderson, Kovačić, Semenyo, Foden, Doku, Haaland.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Guimarães, Ødegaard, Lewis-Skelly, Madueke, Havertz, Tzolis.
Arsenal subs: Rice (46', Guimarães), Hincapié & Saka (60', Calafiori & Madueke), Gyökeres & Zubimendi (75', Havertz & Lewis-Skelly), Eze (84', Ødegaard). Arsenal manager: Mikel Arteta. Yellow cards: Calafiori, Foden, Gvardiol, Ødegaard (FOX Sports). xG is FotMob's (2.16 to 1.12 for Arsenal). Sky Sports and Goal give Manchester City only 0.77–0.8, and Arsenal 2.19, all from open play.
Key moments, move by move
- Straight from the start, Arsenal work the ball from Ødegaard on the right into Lewis-Skelly.
- Calafiori starts wide at left-back and runs inside, across Khusanov.
- Khusanov neither follows the run nor blocks it (Coaches' Voice). Lewis-Skelly slides the pass between him and Dias.
- One-on-one, Calafiori finishes low into the bottom-left corner as Donnarumma comes out.
- Madueke plays inside to Ødegaard on the right.
- Ødegaard has time to look up and clips a cross to the back post.
- Tzolis has run in off Khusanov's back shoulder, and Khusanov doesn't adjust (Coaches' Voice).
- Tzolis heads it back across goal.
- Havertz rises above Dias and heads it in from six yards, through Donnarumma's hands.
- Early in the second half, Lewis-Skelly releases Tzolis wide on Arsenal's left, Khusanov's side again.
- Tzolis carries inside. Calafiori and Havertz both run, and the far side of the back line is overloaded (Coaches' Voice).
- A low pass goes across the edge of the box.
- Ødegaard arrives late from the right and gets past Gvardiol.
- He sends Donnarumma to the ground and rolls it into the net.
Khusanov tucks in, Kovačić is alone, and the right side opens up
- A 3-1 base in possession. As Manchester City moved forward, Khusanov narrowed into a back three with Dias and Gvardiol, and Kovačić was the single pivot. O'Reilly stepped from left-back into midfield, and Anderson or O'Reilly drifted outside Arsenal's block to receive (Coaches' Voice). Sky Sports called the O'Reilly move predictable.
- Arsenal's 4-4-2 closed the middle. Manchester City had 59% of the ball and 12 shots, but found it hard to get past the compact block early on (Coaches' Voice). The chances came from Doku's passes and long shots: Foden at 20', Haaland at 36' and 40', Kovačić from 25 yards.
- How hard did Manchester City press? Sources differ. Tactical Football Analysis describes a man-oriented high press (Foden on Lewis-Skelly, Kovačić jumping to Guimarães, O'Reilly onto White) that Arsenal beat by finding the free player. Sky Sports saw a high line with passive pressing in front of it.
- Khusanov's side was the weak point. All three goals came down Manchester City's right. Calafiori ran across Khusanov for the first and Tzolis got off his shoulder for the second (Coaches' Voice). The third came from Tzolis attacking the same side again.
Recreate it in FM26
Manchester City's 3-1 build-up under Maresca
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Donnarumma | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Khusanov | Inside Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Dias | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gvardiol | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | O'Reilly | Inverted Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Anderson | Channel Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Kovačić | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Semenyo | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Foden | Advanced Playmaker | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Doku | Winger | Winger |
| ST | Haaland | Centre Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking TransitionPatient Build-Up
- Goal KicksShort
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineHigher
- Trigger PressBalanced
The idea: Khusanov tucks in to make a back three, Kovačić holds alone and O'Reilly steps into midfield, giving a 3-1 base against a 4-4-2. It only works with a right-back quick enough to defend the channel behind him when the ball is lost; here nobody did.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce a goal after 23 seconds, or how it changed the risks Manchester City took afterwards.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 3-4-2-1, Mid block, Guéhi on at 30' (for Khusanov), Cherki on at 46' (for Anderson). Protect the right channel first: a real back three, a mid block so the full-backs aren't caught high, Guéhi for Khusanov, then Cherki at half-time to find a way through. Probably still a defeat: Arsenal were better. It moves Manchester City's win chance from 19% to 32% (xG 1.12–2.16 becomes 1.07–1.21). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester City needed
Marc Guéhi
All three goals came down the side where Khusanov played. Guéhi came on only at 54', for O'Reilly. Starting him beside Dias, with Khusanov on the bench, puts a centre-back who tracks runners where Calafiori and Tzolis kept finding space. It wouldn't have stopped the 23-second goal on its own, but the second and third came from the same weakness.
Adam Wharton
Havertz's curved runs cut off Kovačić, the single pivot, so Manchester City kept going round Arsenal's 4-4-2 rather than through it. Wharton receives on the half-turn and breaks lines with his first pass from deep. With him beside Kovačić, O'Reilly could have stayed at left-back instead of stepping in to make the numbers.
What the analysts said
“I think a big part of the game was in the first goal we conceded.”Enzo Maresca
“I think the reaction was good, before they scored the second goal we had three or four chances to score and to draw the game.”Enzo Maresca
“It's the beginning of the season and it's not good enough.”Rúben Dias
“In the boxes they were better but overall I think we didn't play as bad as it sounds.”Mateo Kovačić
Manchester City had the ball. Arsenal had the boxes.
Manchester City had 59% of the ball and 12 shots to Arsenal's 9. FotMob's xG still went 2.16 to 1.12 against them, and the Opta-based figures quoted by Sky Sports and Goal put City lower, at around 0.8. Kovačić summed it up best: "In the boxes they were better."
The defending was the bigger problem, and it was specific. Every goal came down Manchester City's right. In possession Khusanov tucked in to make a back three, and in both first-half goals he was on the wrong side of his man. Calafiori ran across him after 23 seconds, and Tzolis got off his shoulder for Havertz's header. With O'Reilly stepping into midfield and the full-backs pushing up, nobody was left to cover that channel.
Maresca pointed to the early goal and to the three or four chances Manchester City had before 2–0. He has a point: Haaland had two good ones, at 36' and 40'. But City's chances came from individual moments, a Doku through ball or a long shot from Foden or Kovačić. Arsenal's came from one pattern they repeated all evening.