Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has singled out Abdukodir Khusanov’s decision-making for criticism, even as his side ground out a 1-0 Premier League win over newly promoted Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland’s first-half header proved enough to separate the two sides, but City were made to work far harder than the scoreline suggested. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma required to bail his side out on more than one occasion.
Donnarumma the difference-maker after early scare
City’s afternoon nearly unravelled inside the opening minutes. A back-pass from Khusanov should have been routine, but Donnarumma’s first touch was loose and more than half the ball had crossed the line before he hacked it clear, sparing his side an early own goal. It was a nervy moment that could have changed the entire complexion of the match.
Haaland eventually broke the deadlock in the 26th minute, rising to head home a pinpoint cross from Antoine Semenyo. City dominated the ball for large spells, controlling 81 percent of possession in the first half alone, and might have doubled their lead before the interval had their finishing matched their approach play.
Coventry, managed by Frank Lampard, grew into the contest after the break and pushed hard for an equaliser. Their best chance arrived with ten minutes remaining when Ellis Simms’ close-range effort was denied by Donnarumma, the Italian getting his body behind the shot to preserve the lead.
The result made it three wins from three matches to start City’s 2026-27 Premier League campaign under their new head coach.
Speaking after the match, Maresca was quick to defend his goalkeeper while pointing the finger at his young centre-back for the earlier scare.
“This is Gigio! We know he’s very good! Also I think the decision from [Abdukodir] Khusa to play to Gigio in that situation was not the best. But he made some good saves and we’re happy,” he said per City Xtra
It is not the first time this season that questions have been raised over the understanding between Donnarumma and his defenders in build-up play.
The goalkeeper’s distribution profile is markedly different from that of his predecessor at the club, and City have spent time on the training ground this summer trying to adapt their style to get the best out of him.
“Sometimes you need to win games in ugly ways” — Maresca
Beyond the individual moment involving Khusanov and Donnarumma, Maresca used his press conference to reflect on a performance he felt dipped after a bright opening 45 minutes.
City were sharper, more fluid and created the better chances before the break, but struggled to find the same rhythm after the restart as Coventry grew in confidence.
“We’re not going to win games in an easy way, not all the wins are going to be nice. Sometimes you need to win games in ugly ways, and today first-half we were very good, we could’ve scored one or two more.
“Second-half we weren’t good enough like first-half. But we suffer together, and we won,” Maresca said.
Three wins from three has eased some of the pressure that inevitably comes with succeeding a manager as decorated as Guardiola, but Saturday’s performance will have also given the Italian plenty to work on in training this week.
The bigger picture for City is a perfect start to the league campaign, built on Haaland’s continued sharpness in front of goal and Donnarumma’s growing reputation as a shot-stopper capable of covering for the occasional lapse in judgement around him.
City will now turn their attention to their next fixture as they look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, with Maresca likely to address the defensive communication issues before then.
