Nico: We learn Maresca’s methods more every day

Photo: Ank kumar / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Manchester City midfielder Nico has said the squad is growing in understanding of new head coach Enzo Maresca's demands, but acknowledged that fully adapting to his methods will be an ongoing process throughout the season.

Maresca returned to the club this summer as first-team manager, having previously coached City's EDS side and served on Pep Guardiola's backroom staff during the 2022/23 season.

"We won't know everything that we could learn during the year before the first week of the season but even when one year has passed, we will always keep learning," Nico said. "That's football and that's life."

Nico is part of the 31-man squad currently on the club's pre-season tour of Asia. He played 45 minutes in Saturday's match against Inter and is in line for further game time against a K-League All-Stars side on 5 August and Atletico Madrid on 9 August.

The Spaniard noted both continuity and change under the new manager. "There are differences to last year with Pep but there are a lot of similarities in the way we are playing. It's the same whole idea of high pressure and getting the ball as quick as possible and doing a lot of passes," he said.

With the Community Shield less than two weeks away, Nico said City's preparations were on track despite the intensity of daily training sessions in Hong Kong's heat. "I feel tired because we've been training a lot. That's good though, we have to get used to this rhythm," he said. "We did a good job against Inter, the ideas are getting more clear and that's the most important thing for now."

City will remain in the Far East until Sunday night before travelling to Seoul for the two remaining tour fixtures.