Enzo Maresca praised Dias and Haaland after Manchester City’s 3-0 win at Liverpool, pointing to their importance to the team since his arrival. City’s captain helped secure a clean sheet at Anfield, while Haaland opened the scoring before Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki added further goals.
The result gave City a sixth successive Premier League victory. Maresca’s post-match reaction focused on the players’ football and the leadership provided at both ends of the pitch.
Maresca praises Dias and Haaland after Liverpool win
Haaland’s opener was his sixth league goal of the season. At the other end, Dias helped City leave Anfield without conceding, making it a match in which the team’s attacking threat was backed by its defence.
Speaking in his post-match press conference about Dias and Haaland, Maresca said: “They [Dias and Haaland] have been very important since day one.”
The praise was direct. Rather than treating the result as the work of the goalscorers alone, the City manager picked out the contribution of his captain alongside the striker who set the win in motion.
Maresca says City players remain focused on football
Beyond Dias and Haaland, the manager also described a squad concentrating on its immediate job despite questions about events beyond the pitch.
“I said during the week, you want to hear different words, but the players are just focused about football,” he said. “They are not thinking about noise or what’s happening in the future.”
Maresca added: “They are 20, 25, 28. They are just focused on what they like and that’s playing games.”
Those comments, made alongside his praise for Dias and Haaland, describe the manager’s view of his players’ mindset. Sunday’s performance gave him a result to support that assessment, with three different scorers and a clean sheet against Liverpool.
Dias and Haaland set the tone at Anfield
City’s next task is to maintain the standard rather than treat one away win as the end of the job. Maresca’s emphasis on Dias and Haaland points to the value of consistent performances from the players carrying responsibility through the spine of the side.
Read our Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City match report for the match itself. Maresca’s comments and press-conference video are on Manchester City’s official website.
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