Manchester City needed a stunning late intervention from Erling Haaland to see off RB Leipzig 3-2 in Germany on Wednesday night. The result, however, did little to ease the growing unease around Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s form under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
The Italian goalkeeper was at fault for a third time in recent weeks, beaten at his near post by Ridle Baku’s cross as Leipzig fought back from a goal down to level the tie at 1-1.
It was one of three errors the former Paris St-Germain man made over the course of the evening, yet Maresca once again chose to shield his No.1 rather than pile on the criticism.
Castello Lukeba’s own goal had given City an early lead before Baku’s strike levelled matters just after the hour mark began.
Enzo Fernández restored the visitors’ advantage, only for Antonio Nusa to drag Leipzig level again soon after. It was left to Haaland, City’s talisman, to settle the contest with 12 minutes remaining, converting after good work from Elliot Anderson to hand Maresca his latest away win in Europe.
Maresca stands by his goalkeeper despite another costly lapse
Speaking after the match, Maresca was quick to point to the other side of Donnarumma’s evening – a sprawling save from Christoph Baumgartner only minutes before the goalkeeper was undone at his near post.
“Not a concern but it’s a mistake. We recognise that it’s a mistake,” said Maresca, quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
“At the moment I’m not thinking about the goalkeeping situation. A few minutes before the goal he’s done a save that no keeper in the world makes. Gigio knows he was not good with the first goal. He’s going to do better.”
It is a pattern that has become familiar since the Italian coach’s arrival at the Etihad: public faith in Donnarumma, paired with a pointed insistence that the problems run wider than one man between the posts.
Maresca was careful not to let his goalkeeper carry the blame alone for a performance that, in other respects, underlined City’s attacking threat under their new boss.
“Both goals are quite silly goals we can avoid. We are creating many chances in each game but we need to avoid silly goals. It’s about working more. Understand and analyse. I’m new here, I need to know the players and they need to know me. We can only improve,” he said.
The 46-year-old, still bedding in his methods after succeeding Pep Guardiola, was asked whether the leaky defending pointed to a structural issue with his system rather than individual lapses.
He rejected that suggestion outright, insisting the explanation lies with decision-making in isolated moments rather than anything tactical.
“I don’t think in this moment it’s a matter of balance. In the last five or six games we concede in all competitions [and] they are individual mistakes so it’s not about the system or a midfielder to the offensive line. It’s more individual mistakes that we need to do better to avoid,” Maresca added.
The win keeps City’s Champions League campaign on track and moves them closer to the knockout places, but the recurring theme of sloppy defending will be of greater concern heading into a congested run of fixtures.
Donnarumma, signed as City’s long-term successor between the sticks, has now been involved in a string of errors in recent weeks, and scrutiny over his early months at the club shows little sign of easing.
