Antoine Semenyo Relishing Enzo Maresca’s Tactical Shift at Manchester City

Antoine Semenyo has described Enzo Maresca’s tactical instructions as “music to my ears” following Manchester City’s pre-season opener against Inter Milan in Hong Kong.

The Italian head coach took charge of City for the first time in a match that ended in a penalty shootout defeat, but his emphasis on direct wing play was immediately evident. Semenyo, starting on the flank, set up Divin Mubama’s goal after repeatedly beating Inter full-back Andy Diouf before being withdrawn at half-time.

Teenage winger Ryan McAidoo also featured from the bench, with Maresca later confirming both players fit the profile of wide men he intends to deploy this season.

“When he got appointed, that was the first thing I thought about because when you’ve played Chelsea previously when he was there, his wide men were always high and quite free,” Semenyo said. “So that was one of the things that excited me the most when he got appointed and it’s exciting for me as a winger. I get to have one-v-one situations most of the game and I am looking forward to it.”

Semenyo revealed he has held individual tactical meetings with Maresca since the manager’s arrival.

“I think his ideas are great, quite similar to Pep, but if you watched the Inter game, you would have seen a couple of his ideas play out and it was good,” Semenyo said. “Enzo is just [telling me to] stay out wide and when you get the ball, just create opportunities. So it is music to my ears.”

The Ghana international arrived at the Etihad Stadium in January following a £65 million move from Bournemouth, choosing City despite interest from Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United.

Reflecting on his departure from the South Coast, Semenyo said: “I owe Bournemouth everything to be honest. They helped my Premier League career flourish and the management, the staff behind the scenes, they were all amazing and made everything so smooth.”

He added that former manager Pep Guardiola played a pivotal role in his decision to move mid-season. “Pep spoke to me beforehand and he said, ‘Look, when you come, I am going to make you a better player’. You want to get better, you want to improve every season and he definitely helped me with that in the first five months, but obviously it’s sad for him to leave.”

Semenyo scored 21 goals for club and country during the campaign, including the winning goal in Manchester City’s FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea, alongside winning the Carabao Cup.