Photo: Katie Chan / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester City were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the 2026/27 Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with Enzo Maresca citing the opening goal as the defining moment of the match.
Riccardo Calafiori put Arsenal ahead inside 30 seconds, and the Gunners did not look back from there.
"I think a big part of the game was in the first goal we conceded," Maresca said at his post-match press conference. "Unfortunately after 30 seconds we conceded the first one. I think the reaction was good, before they scored the second goal we had three or four chances to score and to draw the game. Unfortunately we missed the chances and then after the second goal it became more difficult."
Maresca acknowledged broader concerns about how the goals were conceded. "In general I'm always concerned, even when we win games so imagine how that we didn't win the game," he said. "It's just the beginning, we have many things that we need to do better."
Erling Haaland, Nico O'Reilly, Jeremy Doku and Elliot Anderson all started despite having only returned to first-team training earlier in the week following their involvement at the World Cup. Maresca had planned to replace all four after 45 minutes or a maximum of one hour.
"We decide to start with four with just two or three sessions," Maresca explained. "The reason why was also because sometimes players prefer to start doing the proper warm up and start from the beginning."
The defeat was Maresca's first competitive game in charge of City as he takes over from Pep Guardiola ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season.