Allan scores and assists on debut as Maresca warns English football 'a bit different' from South America

Brazilian winger Allan announced himself at Manchester City with a goal and an assist on his debut, but manager Enzo Maresca has tempered expectations, warning the 22-year-old that English football presents a different challenge to anything he has faced in South America.

The summer signing struggled in the opening 20 minutes of the Carabao Cup tie against Norwich, repeatedly being outmuscled by defender Darlin Yongwa. He recovered well, however, setting up fellow debutant Floyd Samba for the opening goal before completing a confident run and finish after the break to score his first for the club.

“It was a good performance. It was not easy for him, first time 90 minutes, first minutes here at home so it’s always complicated,” Maresca said. “It was important for him to play 90 minutes and to see a little bit the English competition that is a bit different from South America so overall was good. He scored a goal, one assist, so I think he’s happy.”

Sporting director Hugo Viana had already flagged that Allan would require a settling-in period, and Maresca acknowledged the depth of options available to him on the flanks. Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku, Iliman Ndiaye, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, and Ryan McAidoo all compete for wide positions, giving the City head coach considerable flexibility as the season builds.

“We have different competitions. We have many games and we are just at the beginning of the season,” Maresca added. “The ones that play tonight are going to play Premier League or Champions League games because the season is long. We have different kinds of wingers and hopefully we can use all of them.”

Doku, Maresca confirmed, is close to returning from injury, which will further intensify competition for places. Despite the early difficulties against Norwich, the City fanbase has already embraced Allan, with supporters debuting a song for the winger during the match.