Pitted against the Premier League new boys, the Blues largely dominated possession and territory at the Etihad, carving out a host of chances as we sought to to add to Erling Haaland’s first half opener.
However, Maresca’s men then had to hold off a late Coventry rally with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma twice making fine saves to preserve the advantage.
The victory made it three wins out of three and left City top of the Premier League – for now at least.
And assessing this latest success, the City boss said he felt it had served as an invaluable way to prevail for his players.
“To be honest, I was really pleased with the win,” Maresca reflected.
“The main reason why is nine times in this kind of game, you finish conceding.
“First half was 1-0 but we could have scored one or two more. We kept them alive.
“With 2-0 it’s a different game.
“The way we suffer together at the end was a good one.
“Defending throw ins, set pieces.
“Not all the wins are going to be nice, we need this kind of win in every way.”
City were forced into a late change pre-match with Nico O’Reilly forced to withdraw from the starting line-up minutes before kick-off.
It saw Enzo Fernández fast tracked from the bench for his City debut following his midweek move from Chelsea.
However, the boss said he didn’t think the problem for O’Reilly was too serious.
“Nico felt something in his back,” Maresca said.
“It doesn’t look serious but he wasn’t able to play.
“The reason Enzo wasn’t supposed to start was he arrived two days ago.
“I know how frustrating it’s been for him the last three weeks.
“He was going to get minutes but in the end it was from the start and I think he was quite good.”
