Enzo Maresca Backs Donnarumma and Guehi as Man City Face ‘Cheating’ Chants

• Enzo Maresca has publicly backed Gianluigi Donnarumma and Marc Guehi after both made costly mistakes in Manchester City’s defeats by Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.
• Aston Villa supporters sang “You know what you are” at City, with the chant including the word “cheating” after the club’s guilty verdict on financial rules.
• Maresca says his players “don’t care about noise” and has given five of them three days off before a run of home games against Brighton.

Maresca Says His Players Are Immune to the Noise

Enzo Maresca has defended his two most scrutinised players rather than dropping them. The Manchester City manager called goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma “a strong character” and said he is “completely happy” with defender Marc Guehi. Both made mistakes that led to goals in City’s last two defeats, and both are playing in front of away crowds that have found a new chant to sing at the club.

Two Costly Errors in Two Defeats

Donnarumma was at fault for Nicolas Jackson’s winner at Villa Park on Saturday, when the forward’s long-range shot squeezed under the goalkeeper’s body. The goal handed City their first league defeat of the season. Earlier this month against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Donnarumma was at fault for the goals scored by Désiré Doué and Maghnes Akliouche as City lost 4-1 to the holders.

Guehi’s form has been uneven too. He gave away the ball for Villa’s opener, was booked for pulling down Jackson and was taken off at half-time. The previous weekend he conceded a late penalty in a 3-2 win over Ipswich, and last month he made an early mistake that led directly to Lamine Yamal scoring for Spain against England in the Nations League.

Maresca did not hide from any of it. “As a football player or manager, when you don’t get results or make some mistakes, it’s normal. It’s a consequence,” he said. Footballers, he added, “play so many games and minutes that sometimes it’s impossible not to make mistakes.” Donnarumma, in his words, “knows that when he makes a mistake, he doesn’t need us to tell him”.

On Guehi, he was warmer still. “I am completely happy with Marc,” Maresca said. “The way he reacts is fantastic, he is a top guy. He is one of the captains, he is a leader and I love Marc.”

Donnarumma will not play in the Carabao Cup tie with Brighton on Wednesday. Geronimo Rulli will deputise. Maresca said Donnarumma was one of five players, with Erling Haaland, Rúben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol, who were given three days off after the Villa game. “Three days off, energy, go, come back with full energy then we go again,” he said.

“You Know What You Are” Follows City Everywhere

The backdrop to both results is the noise. Villa Park rang with “You know what you are” on Saturday, the chant including the word “cheating”, a reference to City’s guilty verdict over breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. City are waiting on any sanctions and on the outcome of their appeal. Villa was only the club’s second away game after the independent commission announced its decision, following a trip to Anfield where Liverpool fans made their feelings known.

Anderson was asked by TNT Sports before kick-off whether City would face a hostile crowd. “Yes, probably,” the England midfielder said. “Everywhere we go we get it.”

Guehi spoke about the same subject last week. He said it can be “very easy to listen to the noise” and to be “affected by everything going on”, but that everyone is “just focusing on the football”.

Maresca told BBC Sport the evidence from the last two away trips points the other way. “We played Liverpool away, Villa away, and the players showed that they don’t care about noise,” he said. “They play the game, they are focused on the game and are doing the right things.” He added that City “don’t give too much attention to what we can find when we go away”.

City’s own supporters have answered with gallows humour, replying to the chants with “we know what we are” and “City’s going down with a billion in the bank”.

A Week of Home Games Before the Road Gets Harder

City play Brighton twice at home this week, in the Carabao Cup and then the Premier League, which should give the squad some respite. Then comes RB Leipzig in the Champions League and a trip to Nottingham Forest on 7 November, where Anderson returns to Nottingham Forest.

Forest know what a points penalty feels like. They were docked four points in 2024 for breaching financial rules. For now, Maresca has made his position clear in public: he backs both players.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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