Recreate Maresca’s new Manchester City with flexible 3-2-5 structures, added directness and a compact 4-2-4 high press.
Enzo Maresca is the new Manchester City Head Coach, proving to be the immediate heir to Pep Guardiola’s throne, following the legendary Spaniard’s departure at the end of last season.
In 22/23, City’s treble-winning campaign, Maresca was, in fact, Pep Guardiola’s Assistant Coach, working directly under the man who would inspire his eventual tactical ideas across his tenures at Leicester City and Chelsea.
You can revisit that historic system in our Pep Guardiola treble-winning Manchester City tactic recreation.
Now, Enzo Maresca has the opportunity to provide a perfect transition into the post-Pep era for Manchester City, as the club aims to win its first Premier League title since 2024…
Tactical Flexibility Key
Manchester City have played four games with Enzo Maresca in charge, three of which have been pre-season friendlies against the likes of Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
Across these four games, a variety of differing tactical blueprints have emerged as Maresca continues to try and forge his best/favoured team.
Whilst the overriding formation has always been a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, the in-possession structures have varied.
At times, City have deployed a classic 3-2-5 in-possession, with a right-back inverting into the midfield whilst the left-back inverts to form a back-three in accordance.
A similar structure powered our previously tested FM26 Manchester City 3-2-5 tactic.
Alternatively, City have set up in a similar 3-2-5 shape, but this time with a left-back inverting into a classic ‘left 10’ position in the left half-space, keeping two midfielders in central, deeper areas to promote adequate control of possession:
However, City haven’t been entirely wedded to the 3-2-5 in-possession shape, as they have also dabbled in utilising the 3-1-3-3 in-possession shape.
This tends to consist of one full-back and one of their deeper midfielders advancing into the line of three just behind the front three, both flanking the side’s ‘10’, who will remain in central areas just behind the striker:
By possessing and optimising all three, City will have a multitude of solutions that they can refer to in games against certain opponents, along with a number of tactical blueprints that suit varying players and their respective profiles.
Added Directness
Across his first four games in charge as Man City boss, Enzo Maresca has already begun trying to find ideal formulas to balance his tactical ideals and the squad’s instincts and profiles, hinting at an open-minded approach to his coaching and management going forward.
For the past few years, City have been one of the pioneering clubs leading the recent evolution of football that’s suited towards a more direct model.
The signings of Semenyo, Khusanov, and Marmoush in recent years have been a deliberate ploy to eventually reach a more direct, attacking brand of football that can dominate within the game’s forthcoming tactical climate.
When watching City, despite their possession numbers remaining high across his first four games in charge, there is a clear principle that encourages direct passes into space to source wingers readily running in-behind.
This added directness, combined with Maresca’s historical, idealistic tactical principles that desire as much control as possible, adds another layer to City’s game, giving them multidirectional threat across every phase of the game.
How Maresca is Changing City’s Defensive Strategy
Across his first three pre-season games, when City didn’t have the ball, Enzo Maresca has drilled a new, compact 4-2-4 out-of-possession shape.
From here, the front four take it in turns to press the opposition’s defenders whilst retaining compactness to close passing angles into midfield, subsequently forcing play wide.
From here, City’s full-backs will aggressively step up to close down the man out wide, whilst the double-pivot in City’s midfield remain touch-tight with the opposition’s midfielders on the ball-side.
In fact, this is a very similar approach to Michael Carrick’s new defensive strategy at City’s rivals, United - you can read my comprehensive breakdown in the FM26 Man Utd Carrick 4-2-4 tactic.
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
In build-up, you can already identify how Maresca’s implementing his ideas on the training ground: City will look to bait the press forward, as the ‘keeper will hold onto the ball for sustained periods.
As the opposition press high, City will look to play through said press using a multitude of short passes.
Upon progressing beyond build-up, City will look to pass the ball into space often, feeding wingers’ runs in-behind.
In the final third, City’s idea depends solely on the match situation: if they’ve released a winger in-behind and the opportunity for an early cross arises, then they will go down that avenue.
Alternatively, if they’ve patiently made their way into the opposition’s half, they will continue their patient approach in trying to work the ball into the box and break down the opposition’s low block.
In general, there is a large emphasis placed on dominating the ball and stretching the pitch as wide as possible, in-line with Maresca’s positional play model.
Out of Possession
Without the ball, City will tend to sit off teams in a ‘high-block’, wherefrom they will situationally look to close down the opposition’s defenders to force the ball wide or backwards.
To compact the space in their high-block, they hold a high defensive line.
Finally, when they lose the ball, City will immediately counter-press to try and instantly regain it.
Opposition Instructions
Player Roles
Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper
Whilst the team will predominantly look to build up play in deep areas, it is clear to see that Donnarumma has been encouraged to take fewer risks with the ball, as he will often clear the ball long when under supreme pressure.
Inside Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back
In this particular set-up, the right-back is the player who will invert to form a back-three in-possession.
From here, upon receiving the ball - like every positionally deeper player in this system - he has licence to take more risks in his passing, looking to break the lines with progressive passes or even find the wingers in-behind.
Finally, both full-backs will regularly step up and aggressively engage opposition wide players in-line with the team’s defensive strategy.
(DCR & DCL) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back
Both centre-backs, in this system, are given licence and are encouraged to regularly progress play from deep using progressive, line-breaking passes into advanced team-mates or through balls over the top of the opposition’s defence to source the flying wingers running in-behind.
Finally, in build-up, both centre-backs will regularly split wide to allow for City’s single-pivot to create a deep diamond with the ‘keeper.
Playmaking Wing-Back | Pressing Full-Back
The left-back, in this particular system, will often advance higher - even from goal-kicks - to reach the left half-space and his designated ‘left 10’ position in City’s 3-2-5 and 3-1-3-3 shapes.
From this position, he will make forward runs often - I also wanted to maximise Nico O’Reilly’s proficiency in crashing the box, as showcased at times last season.
Defensive Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder
In this system, the deepest midfielder’s responsibility is clear: marshalling the defence and offering a reliable passing option in the midfield.
Upon receiving the ball, as with his team-mates in deeper positions, he is encouraged to regularly break the lines or source the wingers’ runs in-behind.
Without the ball, both defensive midfielders are tasked with marking their closest opponents tightly.
Central Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder
The right-sided midfielder, in this particular system, plays a pivotal ‘connector’ role that pins City’s shape and principles together.
From here, he will move into the right half-space to flank the nominal ‘10’ with the inverting left-back.
I added the ‘Make More Runs’ instruction to encourage this positioning, whilst the ‘Take More Risks’ instruction encourages him to regularly seek the wingers’ runs in-behind.
Advanced Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder
The ‘10’, in this system, primarily remains in the space between the opposition’s defensive and midfield lines, just behind the striker.
From here, he will tend to wait in this pocket of space to receive the ball - upon receiving the ball, he will look to create for those ahead of him and/or bypass the immediate pressure with tricky skills or robust carries forward.
I added ‘Make Less Runs’ to ensure he remains in the aforementioned pocket of space.
Without the ball, both ‘Attacking Midfielders’ are asked to close down the opponents ‘Less Often’ in order to retain a compact shape in the central regions.
Wide Forward/Winger | Winger
You can expect both wingers, across every system, to largely do the same things: hold the width, make runs in-behind often, and - upon receiving the ball - directly take on their full-back, before trying to reach the byline to create for those in the box.
The only difference between the two positions and their respective players is that I chose this role, the ‘Wide Forward’ role, here as it best suits Semenyo.
Finally, both wingers will regularly close down the opposition.
Same player instructions for both roles.
Poacher | Attacking Midfielder
The striker, across all systems, almost entirely focuses on his goal-scoring responsibilities.
Results
Premier League
In testing, with Manchester City on FM26, we ended up winning the Premier League at a canter, winning 35 of our 38 league games to win the league with a record-breaking 105 points - 25 points clear of 2nd.
Across our 38 league games, we scored a staggering 124 goals (3.26 goals per game) and conceded just 22 goals (0.57 goals per game): the league’s best for each statistic.
Domestic Cups
We began the season with the inaugural curtain-raiser: The Community Shield, in which we lost to Arsenal 1-0. Bad start, but could it get better…?!
We managed to get our revenge in mid-March, however, as we beat the Gunners 1-2 at Wembley to secure the Carabao Cup!
On our way to the Final, we beat the likes of Bournemouth (1-7 AGG), and Ipswich (2-0).
We managed to follow up this domestic success by winning the FA Cup, also at Wembley, after defeating Liverpool 2-1 in the Final!
On our way to the Final, we defeated the likes of Chelsea (3-2 e) and Leeds (6-0).
But could we make it a historic quadruple…?!
UEFA Europa League (?)
Well… we could?! In the updated database I used for this save, Manchester City were drawn into the UEFA Europa League, and by the time I had spotted, it was too late to start a new save and play through another season.
Alas, we managed to win the Europa League to secure the quadruple (?), defeating Fenerbahçe 0-2 in the Final!
On our way to the Final, we overcame Barcelona(?) (2-5 AGG), Atalanta (2-6 AGG), and Slovenian side Celje (0-5 AGG), after expectedly topping the League Phase.
Conclusion
The post-Pep world promises to be a delicate, treacherous path that will test City’s new manager.
But, in Enzo Maresca, City have appointed a manager that brought Leicester City - now in League One - back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and in dominant fashion, and a manager who managed to flourish in the slums of Chelsea’s chaotic hours under their relatively-new ownership and regime.
The promise and potential is everlasting, but he’ll need time to safely pioneer City through their transition period over the next few years - if he is granted such, great days may be ahead for City and their supporters.
If you want a taste of this beautiful tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
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