Maresca explains City’s halftime changes after PSG defeat

“We adjusted a little bit the way we were pressing and something on the ball,” Enzo Maresca said after Manchester City’s 4–2 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.

City’s manager was answering a question about his three substitutions at the interval in the club’s postmatch coverage.

In his subsequent press conference, Maresca said conceding twice in quick succession had disrupted City’s balance and the distances between players. His message at the break was to stay brave against PSG, with changes to the pressing and to City’s play in possession.

Asked about the substitutions, he praised Iliman Ndiaye, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Matheus Nunes. He said the changes addressed the team’s shape and also took account of another Premier League match less than 72 hours away.

Maresca felt City’s second-half chances merited more from the game. Asked what he could learn from the defeat, he said the players needed to keep doing the right things after conceding.