Enzo Maresca has proudly revealed that he is enjoying the “privilege” of managing Manchester City after guiding the club to a remarkable start to the 2026/27 campaign.
What should Man City expect from the rest of the 2026/27 season?
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After beating the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Ipswich Town, Enzo Maresca became the first Premier League manager in the competition's history to win his opening seven games at a new club.
And while defeats to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield and Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League have stained an otherwise perfect beginning for Pep Guardiola’s successor, there are ample positives to take this early into his tenure.
This weekend, Aston Villa host Manchester City in the West Midlands whilst on an impressive run themselves, having gone unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions.
But Enzo Maresca will know that he has the necessary firepower to take down Unai Emery’s side, despite the fact that Manchester City have failed to avoid defeat at Villa Park since the Treble season.
Maresca ‘very happy’ to be manager of Man City
Speaking to the media ahead of the clash on Saturday afternoon, Enzo Maresca told reporters of his life at Manchester City to date, “I'm very happy, I'm enjoying [it]. It's a privilege for me."
Continuing on the way the club is being run, the Italian added, “There is one thing that this organisation has done very good; in any [other] club, when you lose many important players and the manager after 10 years, it requires time to compete again.
"But this organisation, last summer, changed many important players and the manager after 10 years, and we are competing at the moment.”
Enzo Maresca began his managerial journey in 2020 by leading Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad to the Premier League 2 title, and following a brief spell at Parma, he returned to east Manchester to win the Treble as Pep Guardiola’s assistant in 2022/23.
Maresca then guided Leicester City to the EFL Championship title and subsequent promotion to the Premier League in 2024, before taking over at Chelsea, winning the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup.
Having been tasked with the impossible job of filling Pep Guardiola’s shoes this summer, Enzo Maresca has since become a very likeable character in Manchester, who has provided little concern over City's future.
Can Man City break bad cycle of visits to Villa Park?
Despite their eye-catching start to the Premier League campaign, Enzo Maresca may have some doubts about Manchester City’s poor form when visiting Villa Park.
Not since September 2022 have the Citizens avoided defeat in the West Midlands, a 1-1 draw which preceded three straight away losses for the club.
Their last win at Villa Park came just under five years ago in 2021, when goals from Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva cancelled out Ollie Watkins’ pull-back early in the second half.
Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title by one point during that season, though the outcome of the 114 guilty verdict appeal could still mean that the Merseyside club are awarded the silverware.
The club have remained firm in their side of the story and believe that they are innocent, yet if the guilty verdict is upheld, the club could well be relegated, face a lengthy transfer embargo, or be made to pay a huge fine as a result.