Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo expects little to change following Enzo Maresca’s arrival as manager, noting that the new boss’s ball-dominant philosophy closely mirrors Pep Guardiola’s decade-long system at the Etihad Stadium following Guardiola’s departure in May.
Semenyo Backs the Transition Under Maresca
Manchester City entered a new era after Pep Guardiola stood down in May following a 10-year reign that yielded six Premier League titles. The player noted that Maresca’s familiarity with the club structure makes the transition smooth for the squad.
Maresca took over following an acrimonious departure from Chelsea, where he won the Club World Cup last year, and a successful single season at Leicester City that resulted in Premier League promotion. He inherits a City squad that finished second in the Premier League last season while securing both the FA Cup and League Cup. For Semenyo, who joined City in January from Bournemouth after scoring 10 goals in 21 appearances during the first half of the 2025-26 season, the managerial shift marks his third different boss in twelve months, following his time under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth.
“I have no choice but to adapt to the managers. Obviously, Iraola was high pressing, everything was about work ethic. Coming to Pep, it was a lot more ball dominant and, to be fair with Maresca, it’s quite similar. So I don’t think there’s too much change in that sense.”
Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City winger
Tactical Continuity on the Flanks
While the managerial badge has changed, the fundamental tactical architecture on the pitch remains remarkably consistent. During pre-season, Antoine Semenyo operated effectively on the flank, consistently receiving the ball in space to run directly at opposing full-backs.
This methodology mirrors the exact wide-player strategy Guardiola discussed with friend and journalist Marti Perarnau during the 2016-17 season. In his book The Pep Revolution, Guardiola explained the underlying logic of keeping wingers isolated in wide areas to simplify their decision-making process.
“We’ve come up with this whole strategy so that you, the winger, only have to dribble past one man and sometimes there will be nobody in your way. On the other hand, if you stop paying attention and drift into the middle, how many will you have to get past? Four!”
Pep Guardiola, former Manchester City coach
By maintaining strict width, modern wide attackers in Maresca’s system routinely find themselves arriving near the box with clear lanes to cut the ball back for incoming forwards behind the opposition’s defensive line. For the players positioned behind the ball, the tactical requirements remain straightforward: feed the winger and let them isolate the full-back.
Adapting to the Post-Guardiola Standards
The departure of a managerial titan like Guardiola inevitably raises questions about whether a squad can maintain its elite competitive edge. Yet Semenyo’s assessment of his initial five or six months under the former boss underscores why the club’s high standards are deeply entrenched. Working under Guardiola transformed his approach to the game.
“He’s obviously known as one of the best managers in the world, and you can see why. Every day his meetings, his attention to detail, just like his player management, everything was amazing, and he helped me so much in those five, six months with my game.”
Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City winger
Semenyo maintained his scoring form following his winter switch to Manchester, netting another 11 goals in 27 matches across all competitions. With Maresca now implementing a similarly ball-dominant methodology that everyone is adjusting to and enjoying so far, the squad faces the challenge of translating tactical familiarity into silverware during this opening full campaign under the new technical staff.
