Maresca Says Donnarumma Needs "Eye Contact," Not a Benching, After Three Errors Led to Goals

Enzo Maresca's answer to Gianluigi Donnarumma's rough patch is not a dropped goalkeeper or a long sit-down. It is a look.

"There are players that when they make some mistake you need a conversation with them, and there are players that when they make some mistake you just need eye contact to understand that he recognises, he knows," the Manchester City manager said Friday, previewing Saturday's Premier League game at Nottingham Forest. "With Gigio it's quite easy because every time he has made some mistake or something that was not correct, he recognises immediately."

That is the real news inside City's team update: Maresca is treating Donnarumma's errors as a short-term concentration problem, not a selection problem. According to The Guardian, the Italian will keep his place at the City Ground, and ESPN reported that Maresca gave no indication he is ready to make a change. Kickoff is Saturday at 17:30 GMT (12:30 p.m. ET).

Maresca did not pretend the problem doesn't exist. Donnarumma has already been charged with three errors leading to goals this season, BBC Sport noted in its rundown of Friday's news conference. "Overall he's good," Maresca said. "He's quite relaxed, in terms of he recognises that he has done some mistakes but at the same time... also he has made some good saves. So it's just a matter of balance, try to avoid mistakes and continue to do the right things."

The latest came Wednesday in Germany. In City's 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig, Donnarumma strayed off his line as Ridle Baku broke down the left, and Baku beat him at the near post for Leipzig's first equalizer. Later, a David Raum free kick looped over him and hit the crossbar. The Guardian's report also held him responsible for Nicolas Jackson's winner in the recent loss at Aston Villa, and for two goals in the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Former Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam summed up the mood on BBC Radio 5 Live: Donnarumma is "having a difficult period," though Adam added that he didn't think it was "just him," because City as a team were not "free-flowing and clicking."

Maresca made a similar point right after the Leipzig game, telling the Manchester Evening News it was "not a concern, but it's a mistake." He also pointed to a save Donnarumma made minutes before the goal, one "that no keeper in the world makes," and said City's goals against in recent games came from "individual mistakes," not the system.

What makes the decision more interesting is that City have a backup who just played well. On October 28, with Maresca resting Donnarumma for the Carabao Cup fourth round, Gerónimo Rulli saved penalties from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk as City beat Brighton 4-3 in a shootout after a 2-2 draw. Rulli also tipped a curling Georginio Rutter shot onto the bar in normal time.

Even then, BBC Sport reported that Maresca had "no doubt" about his No. 1. Rulli, 34, joined from Marseille in the summer as a backup, and ESPN counted just two appearances for him this season, both in the Carabao Cup.

So the choice isn't between a slumping starter and an unproven kid. It is between the Italy captain and a veteran with one standout cup night. Maresca, who took over in June, has picked continuity. His reasoning, judging by his own words, is that a goalkeeper who immediately owns his mistakes does not need to be fixed by benching.

That is a coaching judgment, not a guarantee. Maresca's line about "eye contact" describes how he handles Donnarumma. It does not mean the errors will stop.

The timing raises the stakes. City go to Forest looking to end a run of two straight Premier League defeats, and the Manchester Evening News framed the trip as City trying to avoid a third league loss in a row, with "all eyes" on Donnarumma.

On paper, the matchup suits a goalkeeper trying to reset. Oliver Glasner's Forest sit second from bottom and had yet to score at home before this weekend, according to The Guardian. Maresca, however, warned that Forest "deserve more points" given the number of chances they create, BBC Sport reported. A quiet afternoon for Donnarumma is not guaranteed.

There is also a break coming. After Saturday, the November international window starts, and Maresca said after Leipzig that City would "see different things" once it arrives. That remark leaves room to reassess, but it is not an announcement of any change in goal, and it should not be read as one.

The headline from Friday is not simply "Maresca backs Donnarumma." Managers back their goalkeepers all the time. The more useful detail is how and why: Maresca says Donnarumma recognizes his own errors so quickly that a deep conversation isn't needed, and he is sticking with that read even after Rulli's shootout heroics gave him an easy alternative.

If Donnarumma has a clean game at the City Ground, the "eye contact" approach looks smart heading into the break. If another mistake costs City points, the same quote will be the first thing people bring up when Maresca is asked about his goalkeeper again.