Rulli saves two penalties to send Manchester City through
Geronimo Rulli saved the last two penalties of a shootout to send Manchester City into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. City drew 2-2 with Brighton in normal time, then won the tie on penalties. They will face Bradford next.
The Carabao Cup is the League Cup, a knockout competition for English clubs, where a drawn tie goes to a penalty shootout. Each side takes five kicks, and if the score is still level, they keep going one kick at a time.
Brighton went ahead twice, through Malick Yalcouye and Georginio Rutter. Mateo Kovacic and Vitor Reis levelled for City. Maresca made nine changes from the side that lost at Aston Villa, and the young and fringe players gave him a real test.
Rulli had already been busy. BBC Sport reports that he made a fingertip save to deny Rutter in the second half. In the shootout, he stopped Yasin Ayari and then Lewis Dunk, the last two kicks, and City went through.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper's path back to the club has been a long one. He spent the 2016-17 season at City without making a first-team appearance. This summer he returned from Marseille for £1.7m, to back up Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italy keeper who is the club's first choice. He arrived as a replacement for James Trafford, who moved to Leeds for £45m.
Rulli also has a shootout story from Spain. In the 2021 Europa League final, he scored a penalty for Villarreal against Manchester United, then saved David de Gea's kick to win the trophy. Villarreal won the shootout 11-10.
Donnarumma's form has been under scrutiny. Maresca said he had been "making some mistakes" and accepted that the goalkeeper was at fault for Villa's second goal. Asked whether Rulli was pushing for his place, Maresca was clear: "No, absolutely not from my point of view." Maresca has also defended Donnarumma and defender Marc Guéhi against criticism of their form. He confirmed that Donnarumma will start on Saturday.
Maresca has also been managing workload. He gave Donnarumma, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol three days off to "recover the energy". Donnarumma switched from No.25 to No.1 at City this season, the number he also wears for Italy.
For Rulli, this was a night to remember, and a reminder that a goalkeeper's job can change in a single hour. He came on to a stadium full of nerves, made the big saves, and gave City a route into the next round.
