Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca singled out the combination between Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush after his side overturned a half-time deficit to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in front of more than 50,000 spectators, with Semenyo providing two assists for Marmoush’s second-half double and finishing the Asia tour with four assists across three matches.
The scoreline alone does not explain what Maresca chose to talk about afterwards. A manager three matches into his tenure, succeeding Pep Guardiola, could have leaned on the result. Instead, he reached for specifics — the width of his attack, the service, the goals — as evidence that something structural is beginning to take shape.
Overturning the deficit
Manchester City went into the interval a goal behind, Jorge Dominguez having scored from close range shortly before half-time to give Atletico Madrid the lead. What followed in the second half bore the clear imprint of Semenyo’s directness. In the 57th minute, Semenyo raced down the left and crossed for Marmoush to slide home the equaliser. Two minutes later, Semenyo delivered another low cross and Marmoush converted again. Two goals in three minutes, both created by the same player from the same flank. Substitute Rayan Ait-Nouri completed the scoring in stoppage time to settle a 3-1 victory.
What the partnership demonstrated
Semenyo’s contribution was not incidental to the evening — it was its mechanism. He finished the Asia tour with four assists in three matches, with Savinho also impressing on the opposite flank across the same period. For Maresca, the combination offered a clear signal. “Today Omar scored twice,” he said. “This is a boost.” The remark was brief, but its context — a manager watching his forwards build understanding in a new system — gave it weight.
Maresca’s broader assessment
Maresca was measured about what the tour proved and what it did not. “Overall, it was a very good test against one of the best teams in Europe,” he said of the Atletico fixture. He acknowledged gaps that still need closing: “We need to be clinical. It’s something we need to improve.” At the same time, he was plainly encouraged. “Slowly we are getting there and with Erling (Haaland) we can be even more dangerous,” Maresca said — a reminder that the forward who might most benefit from Semenyo’s crossing did not feature in these calculations.
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He was equally clear that the pre-season chapter was closing. “Credit to the players for the effort they have done,” he said. “From tomorrow pre-season is finished and the real business starts.”
The Asia tour in full
Manchester City’s Asia tour produced two victories — over a K-League All-Stars side and over Atletico Madrid — and ended with a draw against Inter Milan followed by a penalty-shootout defeat. The results were mixed, but Maresca’s stated priority was development rather than an unbeaten record, and the evidence he drew on in his post-match remarks centred on attacking patterns rather than points accumulated.
The Community Shield awaits
The real business Maresca referenced arrives on August 16, when Manchester City face Arsenal in the Community Shield. That fixture will measure what the Asia tour has assembled against competitive opposition with something beyond friendliness at stake. Semenyo’s four assists and Marmoush’s goals give Maresca a combination he has already named publicly — and one that Arsenal’s defence will now need to plan for.
