Ayyoub Bouaddi expressed his delight after marking his first Premier League start for City with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.
City see off Ipswich as Maresca makes Premier League history
After three top-flight appearances from the bench, the Moroccan teenager was handed his first start by Enzo Maresca after an impressive outing in the midweek defeat to PSG.
Phil Foden grabbed the opener after 19 minutes, before the visitors levelled through Daizen Maeda two minutes later.
Erling Haaland then struck either side of half-time, before a late Zian Flemming penalty added to the goals in a historic afternoon for Maresca, who became the first manager in Premier League history to win all seven of their opening fixtures in charge of a club.
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Bouaddi played a key part in our latest win, having 92 touches of the ball, winning seven ground duels and playing seven line-breaking passes.
“It was really good. I’m really happy because we won the game,” began Bouaddi in an interview after the game. “Of course everything is good. It was a really tough game against a really good team in Ipswich. They put us in trouble in the second half. We won the game and we are really happy with that.
“Of course I was really happy [to start]. It’s football, I really like to play the game. I want to play every game. But I know it’s part of the process and I was really happy with the game today.
“Of course, you have a bit of pressure. You don’t want them to score again, but we managed it really well. And yes, we were really happy with it.
“It’s easier to play [with players like these], even if sometimes you play a bad pass they can manage everything. They make it successful, so it is a huge honour to play with players like this.”
The midfielder was also quizzed about Foden’s return to the scoresheet for the first time since December 2025.
“You can ask him the question, but I’m sure he’s really happy and we’re really happy he scored the goal,” he continued.
“He’s a great player, important player for the team.
“Everyone is an important player and we all want to play well all of the time.”