Manchester City’s Champions League Plans: O’Reilly Hope and Doku Delay

Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca cut a relaxed but sharp figure in Porto as he outlined his plans for a new Champions League campaign – one that will begin without Jeremy Doku, but could soon welcome back Nico O’Reilly.

By his side sat Matheus Nunes, smiling at the mention of right-back, clear about where he still sees his future, and quietly confident about facing a club he knows all too well.

The European season starts here. City already sound wired in.

O’Reilly hope, Doku delay

The first hard news from Maresca concerned his squad list. O’Reilly and Doku did not travel to Portugal and did not train on Monday, yet the tone around each player could hardly be more different.

On O’Reilly, Maresca struck an upbeat note. The academy product pulled out of the warm-up before City’s win over Coventry at the weekend, but the issue was never considered serious. The manager remains optimistic he could be back in time for Sunday’s Manchester derby against United, a rapid turnaround that underlines how cautious City were in leaving him at home.

Doku’s situation carries more weight. Injured in the Community Shield and initially expected to miss only a couple of weeks, the Belgium international now looks set to sit out at least the first five matches of the season. Maresca insisted the winger is “back” in the sense of recovery, and stressed there has been no setback, yet he does not expect him to be ready for the weekend either.

City will begin their European defence without one of their most direct attacking threats. They will have to find their width and chaos from elsewhere.

Maresca’s City: music, standards and control

Maresca’s imprint on this squad is starting to show in small but telling details. One of them is audible.

He has brought music into training and warm-ups at the Etihad Campus, something he previously used at Leicester and Chelsea. The playlist belongs to the players. The intention is his.

“When it is playing, they are happy,” he explained. A lighter mood, sharper focus. It is a modern manager’s trick, but one that fits with the way he speaks about energy and standards. Those inside the dressing room feel it. Nunes described “new energy around” the club and praised the level Maresca demands every day.

On the pitch, Maresca talked about clarity and control. He knows Porto will test City in the details – especially from dead balls.

“I know that Porto are good at set pieces,” he said. “Defend in the right way and score set pieces. You need to be perfect in your game.”

The message was clear: City cannot drift through this opener assuming their status will carry them. Not in this stadium. Not against this opponent.

Respect for Porto, no interest in favourites’ tags

There was no attempt to talk down the challenge.

“Very, very good team,” Maresca said of Porto. He praised their clear style and the way they play, acknowledging how difficult a place this is to come and win. The favourites’ question came, as it always does with City in Europe now. He batted it away.

“We are here to do our best. The game will dictate who is favourites. It is a hard place to come, difficult place. We are going to try and do our best and try to win the game.”

The focus stayed on performance, not reputation. That has been a recurring theme since City’s Treble season, which Maresca referenced as part of his own Champions League education alongside previous spells at Chelsea.

The format might be new this year, but his ambition is not. City expect to go deep. They also know how unforgiving the competition can be.

Haaland: from phenomenon to family man

Inevitably, Erling Haaland’s name surfaced more than once. Maresca spoke of a player evolving not just on the pitch but off it.

“He is the second captain. He is a figure. He has won everything for the club,” Maresca said. “He is a top guy and I am happy that his leadership keeps growing because he deserves it.”

Haaland’s life has changed. He is now a father, something Maresca highlighted as part of the striker’s development into a “family man” and a more complete figure in the dressing room.

There was also a nod to the physical and mental strain on players like Haaland who shoulder heavy minutes for club and country. When the fatigue shows, Maresca will not hesitate.

“It is correct in the moment that you see they are tired, it is then right to give them a rest,” he said. That break might last a game, it might last a week, but the principle is fixed: City need 11 players at 100 per cent.

Nunes: “I can play any position” – but still a midfielder at heart

When Nunes took his seat for the second part of the press conference, the conversation quickly turned to his role. He has already been used at right-back, a tactical wrinkle that suits Maresca’s fondness for flexible midfielders.

“I can play any position. I feel happy at right-back,” Nunes said, before adding the important caveat: he still sees himself as a midfielder and loves to attack from that base. Ultimately, he will go where “Mister decides” and do his best there. The tone was matter-of-fact, not reluctant.

His own fitness is no longer a concern. An ankle problem suffered in training before the Arsenal game disrupted his start to the campaign, but he now feels “100 per cent” and ready to contribute again.

Nunes also spoke warmly about Maresca’s impact, echoing the sense of renewed energy around the squad. Standards have been set. Nobody doubts who set them.

Facing Porto: a familiar foe, a different style

For Nunes, this tie carries an extra layer. He knows Portuguese football inside out and expects a serious examination.

“It is going to be tough. All teams have great players,” he said. He picked out Pepe as “a great forward” and relished the idea of a “beautiful duel” to come.

Asked whether this was City’s most complicated tie so far, he refused to single it out, pointing instead to the difficulty of previous games against Arsenal and Crystal Palace. The respect for Porto, though, was obvious.

From his vantage point, the Portuguese side have evolved. When he played there, Porto leaned heavily on transition football. Now, he believes, they enjoy controlling the game more, still with that ingrained fighting DNA but with a greater appetite for possession.

Whether that makes them better or worse, he left for others to decide. What matters to City is simple: they must be at their best level to get through.

New faces, same expectation

Nunes reserved praise for City’s transfer work, describing the new signings as “the best players at the other teams” and stressing the responsibility on the squad to help them settle. The feeling inside the camp is that the club have reloaded smartly, not just spent heavily.

The expectation, though, has not shifted. This is Manchester City. The bar remains sky-high.

“When you are City, the expectation is higher,” Maresca said. He will not chase the noise. His focus is on daily improvement, on seeing the team grow week by week.

Nunes put the Champions League demand in blunt terms. It is the hardest competition, particularly in the knockouts, where one bad night sends you home. In the Premier League, you can recover. In Europe, you rarely get a second chance.

City want to win it every season. This year, he said, “will be no different.”

The music is on, the standards are set, and the champions of Europe are back on the road. Now they have to prove, once again, that they still belong at the very top of this stage.