Enzo Maresca has insisted that he remains “completely calm” amid the seismic guilty verdict hanging over Manchester City, maintaining a resolute focus on his side’s UEFA Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium.
Jeremy Doku is set to start against PSG on Wednesday after a brilliant cameo against Liverpool.More Videos
The Manchester City manager couldn’t have made a better start to life as Pep Guardiola’s successor, guiding his group to eight consecutive wins in all competitions, including Sunday’s 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield.
That victory, fuelled by second-half goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki, meant City retained their place at the top of the Premier League table on 18 points.
Of course, such a sizeable win has been questioned over whether or not it will ultimately mean anything at the end of the season, given City’s ongoing courtroom battle with the English top flight.
After being found guilty of 114 charges relating to financial breaches, Manchester City have since launched a comprehensive appeal, whereby a new commission will conduct a five-day hearing before December 24 this year; a fresh verdict will then be decided within 30 days of the appeal’s conclusion.
Maresca: I stress about game plans, not things that I don’t control
Speaking ahead of his side’s eagerly awaited home clash against back-to-back winners of the UEFA Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain, Maresca reaffirmed his composure surrounding the world-shaking guilty verdict.
“I'm completely calm, relaxed; I promise you that I stress a lot about game plans and how we can train every day. But I don't stress about things that I don't control, so the message with the players will be exactly the same [as Anfield]: We know how serious the situation is, but at the same time it's not something we can do something [about],” the City manager said.
“Where we can do some things is inside the pitch; that's why I like to focus there. The message is exactly the same."
Maresca has faced PSG only once in his managerial career - a memorable 3-0 win with Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final. The Stamford Bridge club secured the win before half-time thanks to a brace from Cole Palmer and a goal from Joao Pedro shortly after.
We need to improve on ‘many things’ despite perfect start to season, says Maresca
Despite the overriding conversation of their infamous guilty finding, there is no doubt that City have made a widely impressive start to the 2026/27 campaign.
In what looked like a humbling starting point to the downfall of City following the departure of Guardiola, the Citizens’ Community Shield defeat to Arsenal was instead used as a motivator by Maresca, and on-the-pitch affairs have since improved tenfold.
City have won pivotal contests against the likes of Bournemouth, Manchester United, Sunderland and most recently Liverpool, but Maresca has stood firm on the improvements that his side can make moving forward.
"We need to improve many things, for sure. The way we try to attack, try to defend - no doubt we need to improve things,” he said.
"And then, in terms of the journey since we started, we won seven or eight in a row, all different for different situations. The last at Anfield was different to the rest, for all the situations that happened during the international break: games where we were losing 0-1 vs Bournemouth and we won; the Man United game with 10 players - all different games.
"Winning games, in our job, is the most important thing, but for me, it's the day-to-day, the things I see from the players, that I feel very happy."
Man City boss lauds 'real leader' Dias ahead of PSG test
While Manchester City have faced some of the biggest clubs in world football in recent weeks, PSG provide a test unlike any other, given their recent success in winning the past two editions of the UEFA Champions League.
Luis Enrique's side beat Inter Milan 5-0 in 2025 before breaking Arsenal's defiant run last season, where Gabriel Magalhaes missed his penalty to hand the French champions their sixth European title.
Stopping an attacking force of PSG's calibre requires flawless defensive ability, and Maresca was quick to highlight Ruben Dias as the benchmark for that level of resilience at the back.
On the Portugal defender, who has played in every game under Maresca this season, the City manager said: "Since I joined the club, since the summer, I was in touch with Ruben, also because he was the captain, so I needed to speak with him for different reasons. Since day one, he has been a real leader, and he's doing very well in all aspects".