Carabao Cup drama at the Etihad
Manchester City secured a Carabao Cup quarter-final spot on Wednesday following a tense 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Brighton. The hosts were forced to come from behind twice during a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the Etihad Stadium. Malick Yalcouye opened the scoring for the visitors before Mateo Kovacic equalised.
Georginio Rutter restored Brighton's lead, but Vitor Reis deflected in a Rayan Cherki free-kick to score his first goal for the club and send the tie to penalties. The equaliser immediately followed the introduction of Jeremy Doku, whose arrival sparked a noticeable lift among the home crowd.
Rulli stepped into the spotlight during the resulting shootout. After Kovacic missed his spot-kick, the Argentine goalkeeper saved efforts from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to seal City's progression. Rulli was deputising for Donnarumma, who Maresca had granted a brief holiday alongside four other first-team regulars.
No doubts over Donnarumma's role
Despite some recent scrutiny regarding Donnarumma's form, Maresca firmly shut down any debate regarding his starting goalkeeper. When asked if Rulli's performance could see him claim the number one jersey, the City boss was uncompromising.
"No, absolutely not from my point of view," Maresca stated. "He's working well but he knows exactly his role, and there's not any doubt about it."
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The Italian coach also took the opportunity to address his side's broader ambitions across all tournaments. He added: "It's a different competition but the ambition has to be the same. This is a new project with new players, a new manager. It started three months ago. We need to do our business. That is winning games and, at the moment, we are doing that."
Off-field noise and domestic focus
City's impressive run of results continues against a complicated backdrop, with the club still dealing with the fallout from last month's guilty verdict on financial charges. However, Maresca has ensured his squad remains entirely focused on their on-pitch objectives during the opening months of his tenure.
The Manchester giants currently sit top of the Premier League table following a strong start to the campaign. Their reward for edging past Fabian Hurzeler's side is a favourable Carabao Cup quarter-final draw against League One outfit Bradford.
Premier League rematch against Brighton
City will not have to wait long to face Brighton again, as the two sides meet at the Etihad in the Premier League this Saturday. With both managers making a combined 16 changes during their midweek cup clash, full-strength starting XIs are expected to be restored for the rematch.
Maresca anticipates another gruelling encounter against the Seagulls. The Italian said: "They are in a brilliant moment. They are winning games, they are scoring goals. They are scoring many goals every game - three, four, five, goals a game.
"I've watched all their Premier League games since we started, and since the first day - against Arsenal, [Crystal] Palace, Liverpool, they always go front foot, man to man. We knew that this was a tough game and they're going to be exactly the same on Saturday."