Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Gianluigi Donnarumma remains Manchester City's first-choice goalkeeper despite recent errors. Geronimo Rulli's impressive performance in the EFL Cup did not prompt a change in roles.
In the cup match against Brighton, Donnarumma was on the bench, with Geronimo Rulli starting in goal.
The Argentine was one of the key players of the match, making an impressive save from Jorginho Rutter during normal time and saving two penalties in the shootout to help City advance to the quarter-finals.
City's next opponent will be Bradford.
Following Rulli's performance, questions arose over whether the Argentine deserved a place in the starting lineup.
Maresca: 'Gigi will play on Saturday'
The Manchester City manager made it clear about his choice.
When asked if Rulli could keep his place in goal for upcoming matches, Maresca replied:
No. I think it's definitely no. He’s working well, but Rulli understands his role perfectly. There is no doubt about that. Gigi and ten other players will be on the pitch on Saturday.
Thus, Donnarumma will return to the starting lineup for the Premier League match against Brighton.
However, Maresca acknowledges that the Italian goalkeeper has made some mistakes recently.
After the defeat to Aston Villa with a score of 1-2, the manager commented on Donnarumma's performances.
From the beginning, Gigi has been doing well in his job. Like any player or coach, he occasionally makes mistakes. That’s part of the season.
Players spend so many matches and minutes on the pitch that it’s sometimes just impossible to avoid mistakes. He’s a strong enough person.
He knows when he makes a mistake. We don't need to tell him this. Sometimes it’s so obvious that players realise it themselves. That’s part of the game.
Donnarumma’s statistics are better than they seem
Despite the criticism, the Italian's statistics do not look poor.
According to the goals prevented metric, Donnarumma has a positive result of 0.53.
This statistic compares the number of goals the goalkeeper was expected to concede based on the quality of the opponents' shots with the actual number of goals conceded.
A positive figure means that the goalkeeper has conceded fewer goals than expected based on shot quality.
Thus, despite notable errors, Donnarumma remains effective in saving shots overall.
Sale of Trafford raises new questions
Amid Donnarumma's inconsistent performances, the decision by Manchester City to sell James Trafford to Leeds is being discussed more frequently.
The English goalkeeper has displayed more impressive statistics this season.
In terms of goals prevented, Trafford ranks second in the Premier League with a figure of 1.96.
Only Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen has a higher figure at 2.32.
In comparison, Donnarumma's figure stands at 0.53.
However, Maresca does not plan to change his first-choice goalkeeper due to isolated errors or the strong performances of his competitor.
Rulli will continue to get opportunities to prove himself, primarily in cup matches, but Donnarumma retains the manager’s trust and the status of Manchester City's number one.
