Maresca says City are 'close' to PSG level after Champions League defeat at Etihad

Enzo Maresca used his pre-match press conference on Friday to argue that Manchester City are closing the gap on Paris Saint-Germain, days after the French champions left the Etihad Stadium with a two-goal victory in the Champions League.

City were 3-0 down at half-time before rallying strongly in the second period, and PSG head coach Luis Enrique reportedly told Maresca at the final whistle that his side had been fortunate to leave with the result. Maresca appeared to take encouragement from that assessment.

“I really like to play against PSG, to be honest, because they are brave — I know the way they want to press, they don’t care, they go man to man on the pitch, they are quite dynamic,” Maresca said. “I like to play against them and I think we are there, to be honest.”

The Italian acknowledged the first-half collapse as a concern but pointed to City’s dominant second-half display as evidence of progress. The manner of the turnaround — from 3-0 down to a competitive finish — gave him cause for optimism ahead of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against newly promoted Ipswich Town.

Maresca was also asked about the potential involvement of Ayyoub Bouaddi, whose introduction from the bench against PSG helped shift the momentum in City’s favour. The manager stopped short of confirming whether the teenager would earn a start against Ipswich.

On the subject of Pep Guardiola, who returned to the Etihad on Wednesday for the PSG fixture, Maresca confirmed the two had not met before kick-off, though he left open the possibility they spoke afterwards.

The triple substitution Maresca made at half-time against Ipswich in midweek — bringing off Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki and Ruben Dias — was described as tactical rather than injury-related, though the manager was expected to provide a fuller fitness picture ahead of the weekend fixture.