Manchester City
Maresca waits on Haaland fitness as Semenyo setback leaves City short
Maresca is waiting on Haaland’s fitness while Semenyo’s injury leaves City needing other solutions.
Enzo Maresca has revealed that Erling Haaland faces a late check before Tuesday’s Champions League clash with AEK Athens, while Antoine Semenyo is set for an extended spell out after sustaining a foot injury.
The Manchester City manager struck a cautiously upbeat note on Haaland, though he made clear there are still doubts over the striker’s availability.
“He can be available,” Maresca said optimistically. “We will see. We have some doubts. He was quite good yesterday.”
The mood shifted when the discussion moved to Semenyo. The winger came on in Saturday’s match for the final 13 minutes, only to finish the game injured. The expectation now is that he will miss around eight weeks.
“In the first moment, we expected a worse injury, after yesterday’s scan, we feel better,” Maresca admitted. “It will be eight weeks, so when he is back in December, it will be like a new player. To lose Antoine, or any player, is not good.
“In terms of Erling, we said we can use Antoine as a 9 but we have different players to try. We will see, at the moment it is Erling, we don’t need to think about another one.”
The issue for City is that the squad does not include another natural striker, leaving Maresca with limited straightforward alternatives if Haaland is ruled out. That problem is made more acute by the fact that Julián Alvarez and Omar Marmoush have both already been tried as backup options in recent seasons, with the latter moved on to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer after confidence that Semenyo could cover centrally when required.
If Haaland is unavailable against AEK Athens, or later when City go to Aston Villa on Saturday, Maresca may need to rely on a less conventional solution. Phil Foden is one possibility, having spent significant time in a central role during the 2021–22 season.
“For sure he can be one of the solutions,” Maresca said of Foden. “He has played there in the past.”
Chelsea
The strongest Premier League season openers and the seasons that followed
Premier League fast starts can be dazzling, but history shows the season rarely ends as it begins.
It is the kind of start every manager hopes for after a summer of preparation: momentum, control and a perfect record to open a Premier League season. Since the competition began in 1992, several sides have produced dream runs that hinted at title glory, only for history to remind everyone that August and September do not decide championships.
One of the most recent examples came from Manchester City in 2023-24. Rodri’s late goal at newly promoted Sheffield United kept their start on track after opening with two wins, and Pep Guardiola’s team then beat Burnley and Newcastle United without conceding before overcoming Fulham and West Ham United. Their run ended at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 7, with Arsenal defeating them the following week as well. Even so, City then went on a remarkable 23-match unbeaten stretch, including 11 straight victories to close the season and claim a fourth successive title.
Liverpool’s 2018-19 start under Jürgen Klopp carried similar promise. With Alisson and Fabinho arriving in the summer, the Reds won their first six league matches, including victories over West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion without conceding. A statement win at Tottenham Hotspur followed before Chelsea ended the perfect start at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool would not lose again until Jan. 3, yet a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium proved decisive, and they finished on 97 points without the title.
Guardiola’s first Manchester City campaign also featured six straight wins, although doubts soon surfaced. Their record included just one clean sheet, and a 2-0 defeat at Spurs pointed to problems that later showed up regularly. City dropped as low as fifth in January before recovering to third and securing Champions League qualification, setting the stage for the ‘Centurions.’
Chelsea’s early run under Carlo Ancelotti was built on a similar pattern of fast starts and later pressure. Didier Drogba’s strike helped them beat Hull City on opening weekend, and they followed with six straight victories, capped by a familiar win over Spurs at the Bridge. After two defeats in their next three matches and a draw with Blackburn Rovers in March, seven wins from the next eight, including a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, carried them to the title by a single point.
Newcastle United’s 1994-95 season under Kevin Keegan was explosive from the outset. They scored 22 times across their first six wins and remained unbeaten until Gameweek 12, with the ‘Entertainers’ capturing the imagination even if the finish fell away. A miserable winter followed, and Newcastle ended the campaign in sixth.
This season, another perfect start has arrived at Manchester City. With seven wins from seven, including victories at Man Utd and Liverpool and high-scoring wins over Sunderland and Ipswich Town, they have again set the early pace, even with off-field scrutiny hanging over them.
Ipswich Town
Haaland Gives Positive Fitness Update After Ipswich Scare
Haaland’s fitness scare eased after he said he was “O.K.” following City’s win.
Erling Haaland eased fears over his condition after finishing Manchester City’s win against Ipswich Town in obvious discomfort. Following the match, manager Enzo Maresca said the striker had given a short but reassuring assessment of his fitness, with the No. 9 described as “O.K.”
The forward still left the Etihad looking far from pleased, even after scoring twice more and helping City secure another three points. In stoppage time, with the champions holding a 3-2 lead and Ipswich pressing for an equaliser, Haaland set off on a late counterattack that ended with his hat trick and put the result beyond doubt.
The incident came when his first touch slipped just far enough to invite Jack Clarke into the challenge. The Ipswich substitute went in with his studs raised, making contact with the ball and creating the kind of awkward contact that left Haaland hobbling soon afterwards.
He still had a little over a minute to negotiate before the final whistle, spending that time limping and appealing for the game to end. As soon as it did, he stormed down the tunnel in clear frustration.
There was at least some relief for Haaland, City and plenty of Fantasy Premier League managers. Maresca said there did not appear to be any serious damage, adding: “Erling said he was O.K. so hopefully it is nothing serious,” Maresca revealed. However, the City boss did add: “The one we need to wait on is Antoine.”
Antoine Semenyo was one of five City players who seemed to pick up some sort of fitness issue in the closing stages of the bruising contest. Introduced in the 77th minute, the winger also failed to emerge from the match without concern.
Manchester City
Man City appeal hinges on documents and witness evidence in Abu Dhabi case
City are set to argue that Abu Dhabi documents and fresh evidence were wrongly dismissed in their appeal.
Manchester City are preparing to argue that key Abu Dhabi government documents, along with witness evidence, were wrongly set aside in the case surrounding their finances, according to a report.
The Telegraph says the club’s position is built around convincing the appeal panel that the original panel made the wrong call when it dismissed a series of official Abu Dhabi government documents and witness material. City believe those documents show the Abu Dhabi government, of which owner Sheikh Mansour is a member, was the source of funding for the sponsorship agreements under scrutiny.
There is also believed to be new evidence from the Abu Dhabi government supporting that line of argument. City expect the appeal process to raise a central question over whether Abu Dhabi officials can be trusted, as they seek to overturn the earlier findings.
At present, the case is still waiting for an appeal panel to be appointed. Only after that step will a formal timetable be set.
The rules state that the appeal must be heard within 12 weeks of being lodged. On that basis, the deadline would fall on Jan. 21, 2027.
When the club eventually appear before the panel, they will be hoping the new group is prepared to revisit arguments that were firmly rejected before. Their case is said to rest heavily on claims of misinterpretation of the law and on what they describe as “irrefutable evidence” being dismissed.
The earlier commission was unsparing in its response. “We concluded that it was an ‘explanation’ that the Club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the Disguised Funding Scheme,” the commission argued.
The appeal panel will be able to review documents and witness testimony, though it is unlikely to hear from witnesses directly again.
