Enzo Maresca Describes Football Calendar as 'Marathon' Amid Manchester City Fitness Concerns

Enzo Maresca Describes Football Calendar as 'Marathon' Amid Manchester City Fitness Concerns Enzo Maresca and Man City face RB Leipzig next up in a challenging fixture schedule. Maresca, who has won 11 of his 15 matches as  Manchester City  manager so far, will be looking to return to winning ways after a turbulent spell on the touchline. The Italian yielded an unprecedented seven-game win streak in the Premier League just two weeks ago, where a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town made him the first manager in the league’s history to win his first seven games in the dugout. That feat came following wins against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United , but their UEFA Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on Wednesday offers a welcome chance for Maresca to end a three-game run in which City have failed to win in regulation time. First came a damning and avoidable defeat to Aston Villa away from home before back-to-back meetings with Brighton and Hove Albion , where success could only be found from a penalty shootout in the Carabao Cup before losing in the Premier League four days ago. Speaking ahead of his side’s meeting with Leipzig, Maresca revealed his thoughts on Manchester City ’s form, which has seen them struggle to yield positive performances in recent outings. “I said many times, this is not a short run. It's not a sprint, it's like a marathon, we need to think about 65 games and now, for me, it's very important to win games in the way we're trying to do,” the 46-year-old said. On his players’ fitness later on in the season, he added: “But it's also very important to arrive in February, March and April - when things are going to be more exciting - to have all of them fit." The last time City faced Leipzig was in 2023/24, when Pep Guardiola’s side came out on top of two meetings, first 3-1 away from home before winning 3-2 a week later at the Etihad Stadium. Unironically, Phil Foden scored in both games, and the 26-year-old will hope to continue his scoring run against the Bundesliga club after re-establishing some commendable form over recent weeks, which Maresca praised on Tuesday evening. “I see Phil day by day better and better for sure, 100%. I've already said many times that he is going to give us many things this season,” Maresca said. "We have many games in all competitions and 20 senior players, all of them very good. it's good to have competition between them. Phil and Rayan [Cherki] are more or less in the same position. I'm very happy in the way Phil is working every day.” The Stockport-born attacker scored the opening goal in City’s win over Ipswich before securing a hat-trick in the club’s most recent UEFA Champions League match against AEK Athens. During that game, Elliot Anderson recorded his first City goal since his £116 million move from Nottingham Forest in the summer, whereas Rayan Cherki lit up the stage once again with a stunning performance not too dissimilar to Foden’s. While the stars provided a reminder to all that Manchester City are ready and motivated to fight for silverware, it comes without inevitable difficulty given Leipzig’s strong credentials of being fourth in the German top flight.