Pep Guardiola supports Enzo Maresca’s approach following Manchester City’s dominant victory over mistake-prone Chelsea in a pre-season match.

In a thrilling encounter between Chelsea and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola showed his support for Enzo Maresca’s playing style despite Chelsea’s 4-2 loss in their friendly match. Maresca, who recently joined Chelsea as their manager, aims to implement a playing out from the back strategy as one of his core principles at Stamford Bridge.

The match in Ohio saw Erling Haaland, wearing the captain’s armband for Manchester City, score a hat-trick, with Oscar Bobb adding the fourth goal. Noni Madueke and Raheem Sterling, a former Manchester City player, came off the bench to score consolations for Chelsea.

However, Maresca’s approach will take time to settle in, as seen by the mistakes made by Tosin Adarabioyo and Moises Caicedo that led to City’s goals. Adarabioyo’s loose pass put his teammate Levi Colwill in a difficult position, resulting in a penalty for Haaland. Caicedo also made a misplaced pass that Haaland capitalized on.

Despite the errors, Guardiola believes there are positives to take from Maresca’s style and expressed his support for his friend’s tactics. He stated that such mistakes would not happen at Stamford Bridge and praised Maresca’s approach.

Maresca, on the other hand, acknowledged the progress his team is making and attributed the mistakes to the learning process. He mentioned the slow pitch conditions at the Historic Crew Stadium as a factor that didn’t help their performance. Maresca emphasized the need for his team to become stronger after conceding a goal and not let it lead to further goals.

Having previously worked as Guardiola’s assistant coach at City, Maresca will face his former mentor as Chelsea takes on Manchester City in the opening game of the season at Stamford Bridge next weekend.