What does Enzo Fernandez bring to the team? He appears to be an immovable starter, but this comes at the expense of playing time for the likes of Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden. Aside from having a strong mentality, I genuinely fail to see any other outstanding contribution he makes.
Indeed, Fernandez's current situation is somewhat delicate. I believe he does serve a purpose in the attacking third, but if the team has Cherki (who creates chances, shoots with both feet, and excels at dribbling and opening up space), Fernandez's attacking threat looks somewhat one-dimensional and rudimentary. Nevertheless, he is genuinely proficient at making late runs into the penalty box and consistently times his arrivals to score goals.
The problem is that Manchester City often face situations where space is restricted during matches; compared to Fernandez, Cherki might be more suited to breaking down deep blocks.
It must be acknowledged that Fernandez brings certain intangible qualities to the team, such as leadership and personality, but I also agree that he can pose problems out of possession—a situation that Cherki and Foden actually share as well.
However, right now it is difficult to look at players or positions in isolation; in my view, everything is interconnected. From this perspective, I believe that deploying Fernandez as a "No. 10" with two midfielders behind him (such as Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi) might yield better results.
This would make the midfield more solid and offer better protection when Fernandez commits forward to attack. Yet, as we witnessed last weekend, that three-man midfield configuration failed to meet expectations—Bouaddi pushed up too far, while all the players continued to drift across the pitch.
Therefore, this is indeed a thorny dilemma: the team's shape is overly open and the midfield balance is deficient, preventing the players from performing at their best.
Furthermore, this magnifies their individual flaws, leaving their natural tendencies more exposed. Although Fernandez might perform better closer to the goal, he can also receive the ball in deeper areas and progress it forward effectively. He understands Maresca's tactical intentions clearly, which is one of his greatest assets. His performance last weekend was indeed poor, but he was certainly not the only one who underperformed.
The question more worthy of attention is: whether this represents the tactical style Maresca is striving for and the players simply require more time to adapt; or if Maresca still needs to strike a better tactical balance.