How Man City fans welcomed Enzo Maresca back to Etihad Stadium for first game

Enzo Maresca was welcomed back to the Etihad by a giant tifo, which was unveiled by Manchester City fans ahead of their opening Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Maresca is City's new manager, having replaced Pep Guardiola in the dugout after the Spaniard decided to quit the club following 10 years at the helm.

Man City fans unveil giant Maresca tifo

The former Chelsea boss has plenty of history with City, previously managing their Elite Development Squad between 2020 and 2021 and serving as one of Guardiola's assistant managers between 2022 and 2023.

As a result, City fans displayed a huge banner with an image of Maresca and the words “Welcome Back Enzo” written on it ahead of his first home game in charge of the club.

City ultimately went on to win the match 2-1 thanks to goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol, although they did have to come from behind as Marcus Tavernier gave Bournemouth the lead.

Reflecting on the victory, Maresca told the BBC: “Happy first of all because we won the game. I think it was actually a game we deserved to win early because we controlled the game and we created chances.

“Before the goal we conceded we had three or four clear chances and we missed. We conceded and it became more complicated but overall I think it was a game we completely deserved to win.

Enzo Maresca tifo unveiled ahead of kickoff. pic.twitter.com/5MRFNpveD2

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“Today we had four or five players that arrived very late, 10 days ago. For them it is still almost pre-season. Erling [Haaland] is one of them, Elliot [Anderson], Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly, you know, we had four or five.

“It's complicated for them but they have made a huge effort to help the team. Even Marc Guehi has never played as a midfielder, today he was very good, so I am happy with the effort from the players.

“Sometimes you visualise things. I know Marc from Palace and I always thought he could play as a midfielder because he is very good. So we tried it for a few days and I think he was quite good.

“This is what we need. We need the first XI starting in the right way and we need the other five changes going in the right way. Today the five changes I think they were very good.”

FGG says: A nice touch from Man City fans

Being the man who replaces Guardiola after 10 hugely successful years was always going to be a difficult task, so it is great to see the City fans getting behind Maresca.

However, whether he can truly fill Guardiola's shoes remains to be seen and it will be fascinating to see how he fares this season.