The Weekly Manchester City Digest

Maresca's first real test: two defeats, a lost lead and a trip to Leipzig

Seven straight league wins built a cushion; a week of errors at the back has spent it. What has gone wrong, and what changes before Wednesday.

For seven weekends Manchester City looked as though the handover from Pep Guardiola had been seamless. Enzo Maresca won his first seven Premier League games, including a 3-0 win at Anfield. Then came a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, and on Saturday a 1-0 loss at home to Brighton. It is the first time City have lost consecutive league games in 14 months, according to BBC Sport.

The table punished it within a day. Arsenal won 1-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, their first win at Anfield in 14 years, and moved to 24 points. City are second on 21, and Brighton, winners of five of their last six league games, are only two points further back on 19 (NBC Sports table).

The goals City keep giving away

The pattern is not a lack of chances. It is avoidable goals. Brighton's winner came in the 11th minute, when Matheus Nunes missed a low ball, it struck Maxim De Cuyper and Yasin Ayari finished from close range (Sky Sports). A week earlier at Villa Park, Nicolas Jackson scored twice, the second going under Gianluigi Donnarumma (ESPN).

BBC Sport counted the individual errors: Marc Guéhi at Villa (he was dropped for Brighton), Donnarumma at Villa, Nunes against Brighton. City have conceded 10 league goals in nine games, double Arsenal's total, and have kept only one clean sheet in their last eight matches in all competitions.

We are conceding silly goals and we can avoid that.

Enzo Maresca, after the Brighton defeat

Maresca has backed his goalkeeper. He said Donnarumma remains first choice and treated the mistakes as part of football. The harder question is structure. With Rodri and Bernardo Silva gone, the club spent roughly £327 million rebuilding midfield, and against Brighton Maresca started all three new arrivals.

Muscle in midfield, and nobody to unlock the door

Enzo Fernández (£125m, a joint Premier League record), Elliot Anderson (£116m) and Ayyoub Bouaddi (£86m, the most expensive teenager in English top-flight history) were picked as what Maresca called a physical unit. Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden began on the bench, with the plan to bring them on later.

It did not work. Bouaddi was withdrawn after 55 minutes and Fernández after 64. City had 62 per cent of the ball, 21 shots and an expected-goals figure of 1.92 to Brighton's 1.00, yet only six efforts hit the target (SI, using FotMob data). Bart Verbruggen made seven saves. Ndiaye hit the bar, and O'Reilly headed wide in stoppage time.

Across the last two league games City have scored once from nine big chances, BBC Sport noted, and the Brighton result ended a run of 23 top-flight games with a goal. Haaland, scorer in each of his previous four league meetings with Brighton, had about a dozen touches in the first half.

Why Leipzig matters more than usual

Wednesday's trip to RB Leipzig is the obvious place to reset. City are 10th in the 36-team Champions League table with six points from three games, after wins over Porto and AEK Athens and a 4-2 home defeat by PSG. A win would put them back in the automatic top-eight places; another loss would leave them chasing in November.

Expect changes. Sports Mole expects Cherki to return in the No. 10 role and Guéhi to push for a recall, with Foden in contention too. The bigger tell will be whether Maresca keeps all three new midfielders together; the evidence of Saturday argues for a playmaker between the lines.

None of this is a crisis yet. City remain the league's second-highest scorers with 20 goals, Haaland leads the Golden Boot race with nine, and Saturday brings a trip to Nottingham Forest, who are 19th. But the margin for loose goals has gone, and the next two games will say a lot about how quickly Maresca learns.

Waiting on the appeal: the verdict hangs over the season

City were found guilty of most of the 115 charges in late September. The appeal clock is running, and Haaland's father has now spoken.

The football has been played under a cloud since an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of most of the Premier League financial charges covering 2009-10 to 2017-18. The club lodged what it called a comprehensive appeal at 7pm on Thursday, October 1, and maintains it is innocent (Sky Sports).

Sanctions have not been set. The same three-person panel will decide them, and that hearing can run alongside the appeal. Under the league's newer rules the appeal should be heard within 12 weeks of being lodged, which points to mid-December, with a verdict due within 30 days of the hearing ending. City may argue those rules do not apply to a case charged in 2023.

David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, told Times Radio he expected clarity early next year (via Yahoo Sports). Nothing new on the timetable emerged this week.

What did emerge was a careful comment from Alf-Inge Haaland. Asked whether his son's contract contains a relegation exit clause, he said: "I can't comment on player contracts or Erling's contract." He added that Erling concentrates on playing and that "those of us outside the pitch" think about it more (beIN Sports). No talks with any club have been reported.

Rulli wins a shootout; Doku cannot save the league game

Two matches against Brighton in four days. These are the Digest's own ratings, informed by the cited match reports and statistics.

Carabao Cup, fourth round: City 2-2 Brighton (City win 4-3 on penalties), Wednesday, October 28

Maresca rested five regulars. Malick Yalcouyé and Georginio Rutter twice gave Brighton the lead; Mateo Kovačić and Vitor Reis, deflecting Cherki's free kick, twice levelled. City never led until Cherki's winning penalty (Sky Sports; line-up from ESPN; reports by Yahoo Sports).

Digest ratings out of 10, Brighton cup tie. Rulli 8; Foden and Cherki 7.5; Reis, Kovačić and Doku 7; Guéhi, O'Reilly, Bouaddi and Aït-Nouri 6.5; Lewis, Elias, Samba, McAidoo and Khusanov 6.

Gerónimo Rulli 8. Saved from Ayari and Dunk in the shootout and kept out Rutter in open play.

Rico Lewis 6. Busy going forward but Brighton's left side found joy behind him; off on 76 minutes.

Marc Guéhi 6.5. Calmer after his costly evening at Villa Park; little went wrong on his side.

Vitor Reis 7. Composed throughout and got the final touch on Cherki's free kick for 2-2.

Nico O'Reilly 6.5. Mixed defensively, but his carrying moved City up the pitch.

Mateo Kovačić 7. Struck the first equaliser from the edge of the box; his penalty was saved in the shootout.

Ayyoub Bouaddi 6.5. Circulated the ball tidily and covered gaps before being withdrawn at half-time.

Phil Foden 7.5. Set up Kovačić's goal and pulled defenders away to free Cherki.

Rayan Cherki 7.5. The most creative player on the pitch; his free kick forced the second equaliser and he scored the winning penalty.

Allan Elias 6. Quiet on the right before going off on 61 minutes.

Floyd Samba 6. Struggled for service; his run drew the handball appeal. Off at the break.

Rayan Aït-Nouri 6.5. Second-half sub; threatened at times while swapping roles with O'Reilly.

Ryan McAidoo 6. Half-time sub for Samba; useful minutes, little impact.

Jérémy Doku 7. Lively off the bench, though Brighton's defence contained him.

Abdukodir Khusanov 6. Late sub; lost his bearings on the corner that almost won it for Brighton.

Enzo Fernández came on late and scored in the shootout, but played under 10 minutes and is not rated.

Premier League: City 0-1 Brighton, Saturday, October 31

A first-team XI returned and lost to an 11th-minute goal. Ratings draw on SI, Goal and the NBC Sports live blog.

Digest ratings out of 10, Brighton league game. Doku 8; Khusanov and Anderson 7; Gvardiol, Ndiaye and O'Reilly 6.5; Donnarumma, Dias, Fernández, Cherki, Foden and Elias 6; Nunes, Bouaddi and Haaland 5.

Gianluigi Donnarumma 6. Little to do; one loose pass into midfield almost cost a second goal.

Matheus Nunes 5. Missed the low ball that led to Ayari's goal and was denied by Verbruggen later.

Abdukodir Khusanov 7. Won his duels against Brighton's counters and forced a late save.

Rúben Dias 6. Rarely tested; untidy at times in possession.

Joško Gvardiol 6.5. Got into dangerous areas but produced little; replaced by Foden.

Elliot Anderson 7. Covered huge ground and set up chances for Ndiaye and Doku.

Ayyoub Bouaddi 5. Struggled to impose himself in midfield; first to be substituted.

Enzo Fernández 6. Combined well early but never found the decisive pass.

Iliman Ndiaye 6.5. City's brightest early spark, but wasteful; headed wide and hit the bar.

Jérémy Doku 8. The most dangerous player on the pitch; beat his man repeatedly and forced a late save.

Erling Haaland 5. Starved of service, with about a dozen touches in the first half.

Rayan Cherki 6. On at 55 minutes; tried to thread passes but his late strike was blocked.

Nico O'Reilly 6.5. On at 64 minutes in his 50th Premier League game; headed narrowly wide late on.

Phil Foden 6. On at 79 minutes; lifted the crowd but ran out of time.

Allan Elias 6. On at 79 minutes; one driving run won a booking.

RB Leipzig: fourth in Germany, short of points in Europe

Martín Demichelis's side won at Schalke on Saturday and need a result; City have the history but not the form.

RB Leipzig appointed Martín Demichelis in June, and the former City defender has them fourth in the Bundesliga after a 2-0 win over Schalke on Saturday, three points behind Bayern Munich (Yahoo Sports; Sports Mole). Across all competitions they have won eight and lost five of 13.

Europe has been harder. Leipzig have three points from three league-phase games and sit 29th of 36, so this is close to a must-win for them, which should make for an open game. Sports Mole notes the last six meetings between the clubs averaged five goals.

Who to stop

Antonio Nusa scored a penalty at Schalke and is the direct threat from the left. Rômulo won that penalty and scored the second on a counterattack. Brajan Gruda, on loan from Brighton, is the creator from the right with one Champions League goal this season (Khel Now). Christopher Nkunku's fitness is uncertain.

The way Leipzig scored the second goal at Schalke, a quick break from a long Benjamin Henrichs pass, is exactly the kind of transition City have struggled to stop. Maresca's full-backs push high; whoever plays there will need help.

Leipzig are without Assan Ouédraogo (shoulder, out until around late December) and Marc Guiu (muscle), while Maxime Estève is doubtful with a knock. City's only absentee is Antoine Semenyo.

The right-back question, and a January that could thin the squad

The window does not open for two months, but the links have started. Here is where each thread actually stands.

Right-back: Freeman and Gusto

Nunes's error on Saturday sharpened an existing debate. Manchester City have registered interest in Alex Freeman, the 22-year-old Villarreal and United States right-back, according to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, who says the player is open to a move (via City Xtra). Freeman is under contract until 2032.

Sports Mole adds that Tottenham are also keen (Sports Mole). Certainty: concrete interest, single-sourced. No bid or talks have been reported.

The other name is Malo Gusto, whom Maresca coached at Chelsea. TEAMtalk reports City are renewing interest and that Chelsea's asking price, about £70 million in the summer, has softened (via Goal). Certainty: rumour or link; Gusto is contracted until 2030.

Haaland: no talks, but questions

Erling Haaland signed a contract running to 2034 in January 2025. His father's refusal this week to discuss any exit clause keeps the subject alive while the appeal runs. Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona have been mentioned in coverage, but beIN Sports reports no negotiations. Certainty: speculation only.

Possible January exits

Two older reports still frame the outgoing market. Croatia's Sportske novosti said in September that Mateo Kovačić was frustrated by his minutes and open to leaving, with his contract running to June 2027 (via Sports Mole). He scored on Wednesday, which may help his case to stay.

Rayan Aït-Nouri has been linked with Juventus, who Bianconera News say will return in January after a loan offer was turned down (via Sports Mole). Certainty for both: rumour.

The Rumour Mill

Alex Freeman (Villarreal, RB): interest, open to a move. Football Insider. Single source. Report

Malo Gusto (Chelsea, RB): renewed interest, price softening. TEAMtalk. Report

Natan (Real Betis, CB): Maresca said to have asked for him; Betis want about €40m and the player reportedly prefers Barcelona. Fichero, via Sport Witness. Rumour. Report

Rayan Aït-Nouri (out): Juventus interest. Bianconera News. Rumour. Report

Mateo Kovačić (out): considering a January exit. Sportske novosti. Rumour. Report

Semenyo out until mid-December; Guéhi's place up for grabs

Nearly everyone is fit for Leipzig. Selection, not injury, is the story.

Antoine Semenyo is the only senior absentee. Maresca said the knee problem is not muscular and a scan showed it was less serious than first feared; the expected return is around December 19 (LiveScore; Brit Brief).

Matheus Nunes recovered from a groin problem in time for Saturday and Iliman Ndiaye shook off the cramp that forced him off at Villa Park. City have no suspensions for Leipzig (Sports Mole).

The selection calls

Marc Guéhi was dropped after his error at Villa, with Abdukodir Khusanov partnering Rúben Dias. Khusanov was one of City's better players on Saturday, so Guéhi's route back is not guaranteed. On the left, Joško Gvardiol and Nico O'Reilly are competing, and O'Reilly made his 50th Premier League appearance off the bench.

In attack, Jérémy Doku was City's most dangerous player in both games this week. Haaland has nine league goals and 13 in all competitions, and Cherki has four league goals (NBC Sports). Rulli started the cup tie, with Donnarumma kept for the league.

Samba and McAidoo get cup minutes; Echeverri finds his feet in Lisbon

The Carabao Cup remains the academy's shop window, and one loanee is finally producing.

Floyd Samba, the 17-year-old son of former Blackburn defender Christopher Samba, started up front against Brighton. It was a harder night than his debut, when he scored twice in the 5-0 win over Norwich in September (Goal). He drew the handball appeal in the first half and gave way to Ryan McAidoo at the break.

Vitor Reis, still only 20, got the touch for City's second equaliser and looked composed throughout. Allan Elias, the summer signing from Palmeiras, started on the right.

Youth League and the loan army

In the UEFA Youth League, City's under-19s lost to PSG in October (Tribuna) and drew 1-1 with AEK Athens. We could not confirm this week's under-21 or under-18 results from a reliable source, so they are left out.

Claudio Echeverri made his first start for Benfica in a 4-1 Europa League win over Omonia on October 22. His header was turned in by a defender and he crossed for Vangelis Pavlidis, and A Bola named him man of the match (A Bola; Perfil). The loan carries a reported €21m purchase option.

Jack Grealish (Everton), Omar Marmoush (Tottenham) and Max Alleyne (Burnley) remain on season-long loans. We found no reliable match-by-match update on them this week.

Hemp's winner keeps City level with Chelsea at the top

Unbeaten in the WSL, still without a win in Europe: Andrée Jeglertz's side had a week that showed both.

Manchester City Women won 2-1 at London City Lionesses on Sunday. Khadija Shaw scored on 53 minutes, Jana Fernández headed the equaliser on 71 and Lauren Hemp won it three minutes later (ESPN; match summary). London City had the better of long spells and missed chances.

Chelsea won 6-0 at Charlton later that day, so the two sides are level on 22 points; Chelsea lead on goal difference, +23 to +12 (Morning Star). Arsenal were held 1-1 by Aston Villa. City are unbeaten in the league, with seven wins and one draw.

Europe: another late leveller

In the Women's Champions League on Thursday, Shaw's 85th-minute penalty looked to have won it against PSG, but substitute Tara Elimbi equalised about two minutes from time (ESPN). That is three draws from three, after 2-2 at Bayern Munich and 1-1 with Real Madrid.

Next up: West Ham at home on Saturday, November 7, then Inter away in Europe on Tuesday, November 10 (fixture list).

A quiet week for internationals

No international window this week; City's players were all on club duty.

There was no international football for City's men's or women's players this week, so this section is short. The women's European night against PSG and the men's trip to Leipzig are covered above.

Among players on loan in Europe, Echeverri's first Benfica start in the Europa League (see The Academy) was the standout. One American angle: Villarreal's Alex Freeman, a United States international, is the newest right-back link (see Transfer News).

The week in figures

21
Shots City had against Brighton without scoring, their most in a home game without a goal since November 2024 (BBC Sport).

1 from 9
City's goals from big chances across the Villa and Brighton league defeats (BBC Sport).

10
League goals conceded in nine games, double Arsenal's total.

2
Shootout saves by Gerónimo Rulli against Brighton, from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk (Sky Sports).

22
WSL points for Manchester City Women, level with Chelsea after eight games.

Bradford next in the cup. City's Carabao Cup quarter-final is at home to League One Bradford City in December; the date is still to be set (Sky Sports).

A first for Brighton. Saturday's result was Brighton's first win at the Etihad (Sky Sports).

Boardroom watching. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano were at the Brighton game (BBC Sport).

Haaland's Brighton run ends. He had scored in each of his previous four league games against Brighton, with seven goals in seven appearances (Sports Mole).

Forest wobble. Saturday's opponents Nottingham Forest lost 2-0 at Brentford and sit 19th, increasing the pressure on Oliver Glasner (ESPN).

Wednesday, November 4: RB Leipzig v Manchester City, Champions League. 12:00 p.m. PT. Paramount+ (listing).

Saturday, November 7: Manchester City Women v West Ham, WSL, Joie Stadium. Listed for 12:30 p.m. UK, 4:30 a.m. PT; check the club's listing (fixture).

Saturday, November 7: Nottingham Forest v Manchester City, Premier League, City Ground. 9:30 a.m. PT. US broadcaster not yet announced (listing).

Beyond the week: City Women at Inter (Women's Champions League), Tuesday, November 10; Fulham at home, Saturday, November 21.

Standings snapshot

Premier League top six after nine games (NBC Sports table, November 1): Arsenal 24, City 21, Brighton 19, Chelsea 16, Liverpool 15, Brentford 14.