Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca spoke about his plans for Brighton after Fabian Hurzeler was disappointed by the Carabao Cup defeat
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca during the Carabao Cup Round of 16 match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, on October 28, 2026. (Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca during the Brighton game
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Enzo Maresca refused to rise to Fabian Hurzeler's talk about revenge for Brighton as the Manchester City boss looks to down the Seagulls for a second time in a week. Hurzeler said that City "had the luck" in Wednesday's Carabao Cup win and that success in the second leg of their double header would be the best revenge.
The two managers have previous after Chelsea also played Brighton twice in a week two seasons ago. Following Brighton's victory in the FA Cup, Maresca refused to give an opinion on Hurzeler but did praise his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi; Brighton went on to win the Premier League meeting as well and made a pointed post on social media after the second game in reference to Maresca's comments.
Now at City, Maresca ended a run of three straight defeats at the hands of Brighton when the Blues won their Carabao Cup clash on Wednesday. And the Italian shrugged off the invitation to respond to Hurzeler's recent comments as he looks for another Premier League win.
"This is what he said. Every manager can say something different. It depends on what you see with your eyes. But I respect what he said. We try to prepare the game knowing what they are going to do. We try to prepare the game in the best way we can and continue if we can to win games.
"They attack with many players, they score many goals, they create many chances. But again, we're going to try to do our best and try to win the game. If it's revenge or these kinds of things, it's more about them, not about us."
Aston Villa handed City their first league defeat of the season last week, ending their 100 per cent record. They sit level on points with Arsenal at the top and are five points ahead of third-placed Brighton heading into the weekend.
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