Manchester City host the reigning European champions at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, looking to build on their impressive win at Anfield. Maresca said PSG’s quality meant his players would need to perform at their best to secure another significant result.
“They’re the best team in Europe in this moment,” he said. “We need the perfect game but, doing our best, I think we can beat them and be happy at the end.”
Maresca knows the scale of the challenge, having watched PSG establish themselves among Europe’s leading sides. He also stressed that City must continue improving despite their strong run of results.
“We need to improve many things, for sure. The way we try to attack, try to defend — there’s no doubt we need to improve things,” he said.
The manager was equally firm when asked about criticism of City’s celebrations after beating Liverpool. The result came in the club’s first match since an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules. City have appealed the findings and deny wrongdoing.
“Criticised for what? We won 0-3 at Anfield, what do you want us to do?” Maresca said.
“We work every day to win games. It is the only thing that we can think and focus on. The rest is just things from outside which we need to deal with. We were so, so happy inside the pitch and you cannot imagine inside the changing room.”
Maresca suggested the fallout had been harder on supporters than on the players or coaching staff, because fans had to face the reaction from rival supporters.
“It probably has been more tough for our fans than for the players or for me,” he said. “If I was an Arsenal fan or United fan and you are a City fan, I can say, ‘My friend, you are a cheat’, or these kinds of things. So probably, it has been more tough for them.”
The City manager hopes the supporters can provide another memorable atmosphere against PSG. He praised the travelling fans at Anfield and recalled the special European nights during the club’s treble-winning season.
“Anfield was unbelievable. Since the beginning of the game our fans were there, they brought their passion, their voice,” he said.
“Hopefully they can do that tomorrow night because we need that. I remember the Treble season, and I know the Champions League nights were special. Hopefully tomorrow night can be special too.”
Former City manager Pep Guardiola is expected to attend Wednesday’s match. Maresca said he had spoken to Guardiola after City’s win over Manchester United and welcomed the prospect of his predecessor returning to the stadium.
“I don’t know his plan, if he is coming straight to the stadium or to the training ground. It’s a nice feeling, especially for him because this has been his house for 10 years — it’s still his house, for what he has done here.”
Despite City’s recent winning run, Maresca insisted his focus remained on daily work and continued progress rather than outside criticism.
“Winning games, in our job, is the most important thing — but, for me, it’s the day by day, the things I see from the players, that I feel very happy about.”