Maresca sends five Man City stars on holiday before Brighton

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 12:57 · Archive

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has given five key players a three-day holiday this week ahead of two matches against Brighton. Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson, Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma have been sent away to rest and recover.

The break follows City's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, their first loss of the season. Despite the defeat, City remain top of the table on goal difference from Arsenal. City play Brighton twice in four days: in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening and in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Maresca plans to rotate his squad for the midweek cup tie, with backup goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli set to start. Maresca said the players had been given time off because the fixtures are close together and the team needed to manage minutes. The Daily Mail reports that Donnarumma had faced criticism for his role in two of Villa's goals, but Maresca defended him, saying that mistakes are inevitable when players compete in many games and that Donnarumma is 'quite a strong guy' who recognises his own errors.

How it is being reported

• Donnarumma’s Manchester City mistakes are normal, insists MarescaGoalkeeper gets manager’s backing after errors Five players were granted three days off after Saturday • This story will update through the day Continue reading...The Guardian · 27 Oct, 13:05
• Under-fire Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and four more stars given three-day holiday by Enzo Maresca following defeat by Aston VillaEnzo Maresca has backed Gianluigi Donnarumma to recapture his form after Manchester City gave the goalkeeper a three-day holiday following defeat by Aston Villa.Daily Mail Sport · 27 Oct, 12:42
• Enzo Maresca reveals the five Man City stars he has sent on holiday this weekMan City have a Carabao Cup game against Brighton in midweek but boss Maresca has opted to send five of the team’s biggest players away on holiday insteadIndependent Sport · 27 Oct, 12:34

In this story: Manchester City · Enzo Maresca · Erling Haaland · Ruben Dias · Gianluigi Donnarumma · Brighton · Aston Villa · Arsenal

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem