City clung on to a nervy victory against the Sky Blues to maintain their 100% winning start to the season, but managed to get the job done courtesy of a string of saves from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Haaland continued his fine start to the season by converting his third goal in as many games from Antoine Semenyo’s deep cross, which came after Fernandez played through a slide-rule pass to the Ghanaian.
Playing in the number eight role, Argentina international Fernandez was given licence to roam and make late bursts into the box – he touched the ball six times in the opposition area, with only Haaland managing more with 11.
Fernandez could have had a dream debut but saw two shots blocked, before being replaced after 76 minutes by fellow summer signing Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The 18-year-old Morocco international was part of City’s midfield rebuild and highlights the options available to Maresca despite the departures of Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez.
Ndiaye, meanwhile, became the first Senegalese player to represent City and is bound to give opposition defenders with his trickery and pace. No player attempted more dribbles in the match than his eight.
Maresca said: “Enzo and Iliman [played their] first game with us and then Ayyoub and Ryan [McAidoo] their first game in front of our fans.
“That is why I said there are many reasons I am happy about our win. I think they were all good.
“Ili just had two sessions with us. He needs to understand how to move. Most of the time he was moving in the wrong way, wrong position, but he needs to learn and for sure he is going to learn.”
Asked to elaborate on Ndiaye’s performance, Maresca said: “When Marc Guehi has the ball and he was dropping a lot and we don’t need that.
“We need him in the last third so he can be a little bit more higher. That space was more for Josko Gvardiol.
“It is the same thing in this [other] side. But it is normal and with time they will learn the way we want them to play.”
