Headline: Geronimo Rulli’s Strong Performance Keeps Manchester City’s Goalkeeping Situation Clear
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has reaffirmed his confidence in Gianluigi Donnarumma as his first-choice goalkeeper, despite the noteworthy performance of Geronimo Rulli during the Carabao Cup. Rulli, who rejoined City this summer from Marseille for a reasonable £1.7 million, showcased his skills during a penalty shootout against Brighton.
In a closely contested match that ended 2-2, Rulli made crucial saves, including a spectacular fingertip stop to deny Georginio Rutter. His efforts in saving the final two penalties from Brighton’s Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk allowed City to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Even with Rulli’s impressive display, the 34-year-old will return to the bench for the upcoming Premier League clash against the same opponents. When questioned about whether Rulli’s performance had increased competition for Donnarumma’s position, Maresca firmly stated to BBC Sport: “No, absolutely not from my point of view.”
Rulli, well-versed in penalty shootout heroics, previously made headlines during the 2021 Europa League final where he scored a penalty for Villarreal against Manchester United and then denied David de Gea, clinching the trophy for his team. His strong performance on Wednesday night has only strengthened his rapport with City supporters.
After previously spending the 2016-17 season at City without making a first-team appearance, Rulli returned to replace James Trafford, who transferred to Leeds for £45 million. The sign of Rulli has proven to be a smart decision for City.
In a press conference before the match, Maresca commented on Rulli’s well-defined role as an understudy to Donnarumma, a sentiment he reiterated following the game. Meanwhile, Donnarumma, alongside key players Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, and Josko Gvardiol, has been given some time off to recover, with hopes that he returns to training invigorated.
Acknowledging some recent mistakes from Donnarumma, particularly during a match against Aston Villa, Maresca praised Rulli’s overall performance, stating, “Apart from penalties, overall he was good especially in the build-up.”
Maresca also made significant changes to his starting lineup, adjusting nine positions from the previous match against Aston Villa. Despite falling behind twice due to goals from Malick Yalcouye and Georginio Rutter, the squad rallied to equalize through Mateo Kovacic and Vitor Reis.
This win advances Maresca’s successful start as manager, with losses only to Villa, Paris St-Germain, and Arsenal in the Community Shield. With both Arsenal and Chelsea eliminated from the League Cup, City’s journey to defend their title continues, as they face Bradford in the quarter-finals.
When asked about the team’s ambition to go deep into the competition, Maresca confidently remarked, “Absolutely. It’s a different competition but the ambition has to be the same: this is a new project, new players, a new manager who started three months ago and we need to do our business and that is winning games.”
