No Rodri, no hope?! Enzo Maresca facing HUGE task at Man City after Community Shield trouncing from superior Arsenal
City didn’t carry enough threat going forward either, with Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo the main culprits from the flanks. Norwegian terminator Erling Haaland, meanwhile, never got into the game, recording only seven touches before being hooked in the 53rd minute.
Phil Foden looked bright, fresh from signing his new long-term contract, but he was fighting a losing battle. Maresca was so desperate that he turned to Jack Grealish at the break, giving the former Aston Villa star his first City appearance in 15 months. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t help turn the tide, having only recently returned from a serious injury.
It is, however, the midfield situation that will be giving Maresca the biggest headache. With Spain’s World Cup hero Rodri set to head back to his homeland and Tijjani Reijnders reportedly in the process of completing a switch to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Qadsiah, City have a depth problem.
Nico Gonzalez can rotate with Anderson and Kovacic, but they need more. City’s season could hinge on whether they close deals for Lille wonderkid Ayyoub Bouadd and Maresca’s old Chelsea pupil Enzo Fernandez before the transfer window shuts, with the latter likely to command a fee north of £120m ($162m).
Even if they do, though, it feels like Rodri’s departure will cast a lingering shadow. He is quite simply the best defensive midfielder in the world, and Maresca would have been counting on him when he initially agreed to take the City job. It could now be a case of going back to the drawing board.
